Toronto Star apology: Politician does live where he's running for office

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The Toronto Star apologized after wrongly claiming a political candidate didn’t live in the ward where he is running for office.

An Oct. 24 apology on the Star‘s website reads:

“An Oct. 24 article about Toronto councillor candidates who don’t live in their wards incorrectly said Ward 32 candidate James Sears lives 10.62 km from the ward, making him one of ten candidates who lives furthest from the ward in which they are running. In fact, Sears has lived in Ward 32 for the past 11 years. The Star apologizes to James Sears for this error.”

The apology was also published atop the Oct. 24 article in question, “More than a third of all Toronto councillor candidates don’t live in their wards.”

Sears told iMediaEthics by email that “the apology is NOT GOOD ENOUGH.”  In an e-mail to iMediaEthics copying the Toronto Star‘s public editor Kathy English, Sears wrote that he wanted the Star to contact his competitors to let them know the newspaper was wrong. If “any one of my competitors sends out a phone blast accusing me of not living in the ward, I am holding The Star responsible.”

iMediaEthics has reached out to the Star for comment.

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Toronto Star apology: Politician does live where he’s running for office

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