A Liberal free-for-all and a courtroom smackdown

Also: More Jama drama, Smokey speaks, ring of fundraising, what Ford Nation is reading, a bunch of new regulations and much more

ABOVE THE FOLD

At this point, it might be easier to lay out who’s not mulling a bid to lead the third-place, unrecognized Liberal party.

ADIL SHAMJI and STEPHANIE BOWMAN are the latest MPPs to enter the arena, joining a crowded field that includes their fellow rookie caucus mate TED HSU, as well as MPs YASIR NAQVI and NATE ERSKINE-SMITH. Don’t forget about potential contenders BONNIE CROMBIE and former federal minister NAVDEEP BAINS, who are increasingly getting name-checked in Grit circles.

— The timing: Now that the Grits have changed the way they’ll pick their next leader — scrapping delegated conventions for a weighted one-member-one-vote system — it’s a free-for-all race. While Naqvi, Erskine-Smith and Hsu are ahead of the game when it comes to organizing their teams and exploratory campaigns, the playing field has evened out big time — thanks to WOMOV, all leadership hopefuls can be competitive if they sign up enough members to vote for them directly.

— Shamji’s pitch: “I am expl…