Names and addresses have ended up on social media of supporters of an Essex mayoral candidate. “I do have an issue with that. There was a lot of personal information on that list,” said Essex mayoral candidate Trevor Menard, who was made aware that a list was posted to social media Thursday. He says those names and addresses belong to his supporters. “There was confirmation. There was a column with V-L, which we’re taking it as being voter list, and it was checked card,” he said. The town of Essex was contacted by residents about the potential unauthorized disclosure of voters list information and is taking steps to investigate. OPP has been informed of the situation and tells CTV News they are aware that the town is looking into the matter. In a statement to local media, incumbent mayoral candidate Sherry Bondy said a campaign volunteer made an error posting standard internal field notes to social media. She explained the post was removed within minutes, and the volunteer was let go. She also emphasized that no Voters List was leaked or shared anywhere. “Whether they’re a volunteer or paid, the fact remains it is her responsibility to ensure that there aren’t any privacy breaches,” said Lydia Miljan, Political Science head at the University Windsor, who noted Voters List nor field notes should ever be posted online. “The immediacy of something isn’t 10 minutes anymore. It is a lot shorter than that and we just don’t know what a bad actor would do with that information.” CTV spoke with a resident who did not want to appear on camera but did say he was not happy to see his name, nor that of his wife, on a list posted to social media. Could this incident have a major impact on the Essex mayoral race? “We’re kind of far away from the actual election day and so by the time voters go to mark their ballot, it’s highly unlikely that this is going to be the most important issue that they think about when they’re looking at those candidates,” said Miljan.
