The Progressive Conservative candidate who won a Hamilton nomination race now under a pol‎ice fraud and forgery investigation has asked the party to hold a new contest to “clear the air” before the June 7 provincial election.

Ben Levitt said Tuesday he returned from an overseas trip to learn the party decided late last week to hold new nomination races in two other ridings where results were being openly questioned.

“I would similarly like to clear the air in Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas,” Levitt wrote on social media.

“While I am fully confident that my conduct and the conduct of my team was exemplary throughout the . . . nomination process last year, the media continues to report on lingering questions.”

Party officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the request.

Levitt defeated three other Conservative hopefuls in the Hamilton race, including second runner-up Vikram Singh, who later alleged “wrongful insertion of false ballots” at a nomination meeting last May.

Singh filed a lawsuit against party officials but dropped it last month. Details of any settlement were not disclosed, but Singh said “I now accept that PC party officials, staff and volunteers were dedicated to achieving the fairest result . . . and can no longer maintain that there was any untoward behaviour on their part.”

The police probe into unnamed Conservatives is continuing and federal prosecutors have been assigned to the Hamilton case, instead of provincial Crown attorneys, to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

The PC party’s provincial nominations committee decided last Friday night to overturn controversial nominations of candidates in Scarborough Centre and Ottawa West-Nepean, two of about a dozen contests across the province that ended chaotically.

But because of the police investigation, no decision was made to call a new nomination meeting in Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas.

Levitt, who works in the constituency office of Hamilton-area federal MP David Sweet, said overturning the two questionable nomination races was “the right thing” and served notice he will run again if another contest is called.

“I intend to win that nomination so that we can continue the work of offering the people of Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas the change they so desire after 15 years of Kathleen Wynne and Liberal mismanagement.”

Singh’s lawsuit named then-PC leader Patrick Brown and then-president Rick Dykstra, who have since resigned under sexual misconduct allegations they deny, along with then-PC executive director Bob Stanley and senior aide Logan Bugeja.

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When Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli was named interim leader of the Progressive Conservatives two weeks ago, he quickly announced staff changes including Stanley’s departure.

PC party members will pick a new leader March 10, replacing Brown.