Former rival says Larry O’Brien threatened him

Terry Kilrea told an Ottawa courtroom “prominent Conservatives” signalled they wanted him and rival Larry O’Brien to reach a deal on who would run in Ottawa’s mayoral race rather than see the two right-of-centre politicians split the city’s conservative vote. Kilrea testified O’Brien promised him a cushy federal appointment to the National Parole Board if he dropped out. Prosecutors have alleged O’Brien had—or pretended to have—high-level connections inside the government to pressure Kilrea to quit. “[Conservative Transport Minister] John Baird is the one who makes this happen," O’Brien allegedly told Kilrea, adding the deal had been set up by John Reynolds, Stephen Harper’s campaign co-chair in the 2006 election. Kilrea also said O’Brien gave him another, less-enticing option: “We could have just ratf**ked you,” Kilrea said he was told. O’Brien has plead not guilty to two counts of influence peddling.

The Canadian Press