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He decided not to run for his seat in Barrie — about 100 kilometres from Peel at the closest — after new leader Doug Ford made it clear he would not be allowed back in the PC caucus.

Brown seemed to be leaving public life behind, working as a senior executive at Broadconnect Telecom — owned by friend Laj Prasher — and another company, writing a tell-all book and overseeing the lawsuit.

“I had turned a page,” he admitted Wednesday.

But Brown said he does have roots in Peel.

He lives with fiancée Genevieve Gualtieri in the Lorne Park enclave of Mississauga, one of three Peel municipalities; he practised law in Brampton, also part of the region, before becoming a federal MP in 2006; and his father is a prominent criminal defence lawyer in Mississauga.

What’s more, Gualtieri’s uncle, Ford executive Rudy Cuzzetto, was just elected as the Conservative MPP for Mississauga-Lakeshore.

Meanwhile, Brown is already selling his home in Barrie, asking just under $3 million for the lakeside mansion. He said Wednesday the sale came about because of his relocation to Mississauga, not any plans to run for office in Peel.

Ron Starr, a Mississauga city councilor and the apparent front-runner for the chair’s post, said anyone is free to seek office in any place. But he said he’s “puzzled” that a politician popular in Barrie would consider running in Peel.

He said he’s heard similar puzzlement about Brown from others in the region, including organizers of events Brown has appeared at lately, such as a Muslim community gathering and Peel police family day.