Linda Jeffrey continues to lead the Brampton mayoral race while scandal plagued incumbent Susan Fennell languishes well behind in third place, according to a new poll.

The Forum Research telephone poll of 1,020 residents has found that the former provincial cabinet minister has the support of 42 per cent of respondents compared to 27 per cent for city councillor John Sanderson and 14 per cent for Fennell. Jeffrey’s support was identical from a poll conducted three weeks ago while Sanderson is up 10 points and Fennell is down three points. About 17 per cent of voters say they will vote for a candidate other than one of the top three.

The poll also found that 68 per cent of respondents want Fennell to resign over a number of controversial expenses that were identified during a third-party audit and later referred to the integrity commissioner.

“It's clear that the issue here is not jobs and growth or keeping taxes low, but Mayor Fennell herself,” Forum Research President, Dr. Lorne Bozinoff said in a press release accompanying the poll. “She has succeeded in making this election about her and she's going to lose as a result.”

The poll was conducted on Thursday and is considered accurate to within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

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