Mississauga mayoral candidate declines to do any more debates

Mississauga mayoral candidate Carolyn Parrish will not participate in any more debates as the city edges closer to election day, her campaign team says.

"We are respectfully declining all debates," her campaign team said in a statement sent in a text to CBC News on Monday.

"Our campaign will continue to focus on a positive, productive approach, engaging directly with Mississauga residents. Carolyn is eager to continue meeting with individuals and groups in the short time that remains until election day. We regret any convenience."

Parrish attended one debate in the Mississauga neighbourhood of Port Credit last week. Parrish told CBC she could not attend two other debates earlier this month because she was holding fundraising events at those times. 

There are 20 candidates in the race. Voters in Mississauga go to the polls to elect the city's next mayor on June 10.

According to Kelly Singh, acting executive of More Homes Mississauga, which hosted a debate on housing on Monday night, Parrish indicated earlier in the day that she was not going to take part. Singh said she was told that the decision had nothing to do with the organization.

"This is obviously quite a shock and very disappointing given that we know that housing is absolutely a valid issue in this election," Singh told CBC Radio's Here and Now on Monday.

Dipika Damerla and Alvin Tedjo, the only other candidates invited to the event, did show up. Stephen Dasko, another candidate, was not invited. All three are Parrish's former Mississauga council colleagues.

Singh added that the campaign team for Parrish told her there were allegedly "horrible things" coming out of a campaign by one of her rivals but she was given no examples.

"Clearly some of the attacks being launched by the other campaigns have rattled them," Singh said.

Christine Simundson, a political strategist with Rubicon Strategy, said on Monday that she is not surprised but she thinks it's a strategy that may not pay off, adding that engagement matters.

Simundson said Parrish's strategy from the start of the race has seemed to be "the less she speaks, the better she'll do." She added that Parrish was controversial when she was a school board trustee, a Liberal MP, and more recently, a Mississauga city councillor.

"Her voice on numerous occasions has got her into a lot of trouble," Simundson said.

She added that Parrish "butted heads" with the late Hazel McCallion, who was Mississauga mayor from 1978 to 2014 before McCallion was replaced by former Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie, who is now leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.