Contentious race leads to scuffle at Ward 7 campaign event

The battle for the ballot box turned into a physical scuffle this weekend at a meet-and-greet in Garson hosted by Natalie Labbée, who is seeking re-election in Ward 7.

In a nearly 30-minute Facebook livestream on Sunday, the incumbent city councillor said one of her opponents in the Ward 7 race, Aaron Walsh, along with mayoral candidate Bob Johnston and his “advisor”, Tom Price, showed up at the event at the Far East Restaurant, and a physical confrontation ensued between Walsh and one of Labbée’s supporters.

Greater Sudbury Police have confirmed that officers were dispatched to the location.

In the video, Labbée accused Johnston, Price and Walsh of targetting her through the campaign. Walsh hosts a YouTube focused on local politics that is often conspiratorial. The show, “Sudbury News Talk” was the subject of a fact check by Sudbury.com reporter Tyler Clarke, which you can read here.

Labbée said she was shocked when she saw the men at the restaurant, and felt it was not a coincidence that they were there.

“I can’t believe that Bob Johnston, out of all the restaurants in the entire city of Sudbury, and Tom Price, who are adversarial and have been sh*tting all over me on this basement bargain podcast for months with Aaron Walsh, is at my meet and greet,” Labbée said in the video. “You don’t have any business going there. You’re just going to antagonize and intimidate and belittle and berate me, and I’m tired of it.”

Because of her discomfort with the presence of the men over their political differences, Labbée said in the video she asked an acquaintance who was on hand to remain nearby as a witness to anything that might occur.

Walsh and another person pulled into the parking lot shortly thereafter with a campaign sign and began recording video, Labbée said. She said she didn’t “feel right” about the situation so called police when Walsh arrived.

A physical confrontation occurred almost immediately after Walsh and the person he was with approached Labbée and her supporter, the incumbent said. It seems Johnston and Price were in the restaurant while this was occurring outside in the parking lot, where the meet-and-greet was being held.

“Next thing you know, I guess Aaron’s right in this guy’s face … They start fighting, like a physical altercation, like wrestling in the parking lot,” Labbée said.

Within a short time, Labbée said three GSPS cruisers showed up at the restaurant and quieted the situation down.

Greater Sudbury Police spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn told Sudbury.com that “upon arrival, officers located and spoke with the individuals involved and conducted an investigation into the circumstances of the incident,” and that based on the information gathered, “including statements provided by those involved, and considering the totality of the circumstances,” officers determined that there were no grounds to proceed with criminal charges.

“The individuals were advised to stay away from one another to prevent any further incidents,” Dunn said.

Labbée tied the restaurant disturbance to what she characterized as a persistent stream of personal attacks, conspiracy theories, and hostility hosted on Walsh’s community broadcast and podcast, as well as through the campaign.

She added that after Walsh entered the Ward 7 race in August, the rhetoric became personal, including suggestions that her role as executive director of the Sudbury Food Bank was merely a political perk.

Labbée said the acrimony also led her to decline invitations to debates organized in Capreol and Garson, which she described as “co-ordinated ambushes” rather than neutral public forums. She cited instances where organizers and prospective moderators openly displayed campaign signs for Walsh or had voiced personal grievances against her.

Labbée also took issue with the broader climate of harassment, pointing to a past incident where a man was criminally charged with harassment after coming to her home, photographing her property, and posting her address online. She expressed frustration that Price allegedly defended the behavior because of her status as a public figure, and accused Walsh of placing a campaign sign on the accused’s lawn.

Sudbury.com reached out to both Walsh and Johnston this morning in an attempt to hear version of events, but neither candidate had responded by publication time.

Just after noon, Johnston emailed a one-sentence response to Sudbury.com, in which he denies any involvement in the incident that occurred.

“I got out of my truck and went into restaurant for egg rolls,” he wrote. “Had nothing to with it … facts check call Doug the owners son. Ty.”

While Walsh did not respond to Sudbury.com’s request for comment, he took to a Facebook livestream at approximately 2 p.m. on Oct. 26. He said he and others attended the meet-and-greet as members of the public, with no intent to disrupt. He acknowledged that attending may not have been the best choice and said he opposed violence.

Walsh said Labbée’s livestream has led to harassment and a death threat by phone, and disputed her account of events.

In his livestream, Walsh said he attended three candidate debates—in Copper Cliff, Capreol, and Garson—and criticized incumbent Natalie Labbée for not attending them.

Walsh then plays footage he said showed a disruptive attendee at the Garson debate, the video shows a man approaching Ward 7 candidates Dave Rajotte and Walsh. In the livestream, Walsh alleges the man is an associate of Labbée’s.

Walsh then shows footage of the parking lot outside the Far East restaurant in Garson. As the camera pans, the man from the debate footage appears and speaks with Aaron Walsh, who is also live-streaming. Bob Johnston’s voice can be heard in the background and his advisor, Tom Price, is visible and later, he briefly enters the restaurant.

For much of the clip, the man remains in the parking lot but stands near the door in a way that appears to impede Walsh from entering, but they remain at a distance. There is no physical contact.

The video is then cued to the six-minute-mark. Walsh is again recording and speaking with the man.

The man then reaches for Walsh’s phone, and Walsh pulls it away, grabbing the man’s arm with his other hand. The two men hold each other’s arms and later sleeves; they remain face-to-face before separating after approximately ten seconds. Price puts a hand on each man’s arm but does not pull them apart.

The video ends after the three men separate of their own accord.

Walsh ended the livestream by urging Ward 7 residents to vote and called for respectful, professional conduct.

Jenny Lamothe is a reporter at Sudbury.com.