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Mayoral candidate Paul Cheng is following a simple political formula by denouncing “negative publicity” in The London Free Press just hours before voters head to the polls on Monday, a campaign expert says.

Issuing a vague denial and then closing the door to questions – as Cheng did Friday in response to a Free Press story about his campaign spending – is the usual approach, said Adam Harmes, a Western University political scientist.

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“Given that there’s a couple days left, he just needs to deny it, not answer questions, and just make it a non-issue,” Harmes said. “He doesn’t have time to sort this out in real terms.”

Cheng volunteered information about a loan when asked about his campaign spending this week. At a Friday news conference, Cheng, joined by a handful of supporters, said Free Press coverage of his campaign was based on “innuendo.”

He gave the same response when asked why he was refusing questions and when he was asked whether he denies loaning his campaign $10,000 over the candidate contribution limit.