Paul Cheng’s last minute news conference Tuesday night quickly turned into a news conference for Roger Caranci as well.
Caranci announced he shut down his campaign on Tuesday and threw his support behind Cheng.
“We have run a campaign based on simple solutions and ideas that I thought would resonate with the people of London. Unfortunately, this has not happened,” he said. “London is showing that they really want a change. Looking at the polls, you can see that myself and (Ward 3) Councillor Swan are conceivably at the bottom of the poll. That just shows that London wants a change.”
A recent Free Press poll had Caranci at just 6% support while Cheng’s support ballooned from 19% to 27% over the course of the last month. The poll also shows that Caranci supporters would choose Paul Cheng over candidate Matt Brown.
Caranci feuded with Brown during the race, and continued that sentiment Tuesday, saying the city can’t let a candidate who is “backed by special interest groups with wild spending promises take over city hall.”
Meanwhile, Cheng was gracious that Caranci has decided to support and counsel him.
“I accept his graciousness and we will fight on to make sure London is pro-business. I want to get London working again and I want to cut the red tape at city hall,” he said.