Kitchener Centre hopefuls rev their engines

Also: Radio host joins PO, Hsu makes two (officially), MPPs kick off a busy second-to-last sitting week and more

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BYELECTION WATCH — The seat isn’t even empty yet, but the race for Kitchener Centre is already revving up.

It’s the final countdown: Just over one week out from when LAURA MAE LINDO is expected to step down, the wannabe replacements are lining up for a soon-to-be-called byelection.

The lay of the land: New Democrats are hoping to hold on to the riding they nabbed from the Liberals in 2018. Before Lindo took it, Kitchener Centre was longtime Grit territory, repped by DAIENE VERNILE and JOHN MILLOY. Before that, the PCs reigned supreme.

The lineup: Local city councillor DEBBIE CHAPMAN and BROOKLIN WALLIS, who unsuccessfully ran in last year’s civic elections, will battle it out for the NDP nod on June 6.

UPDATE: Chapman won the nomination.

“The pending resignation of MPP Laura Mae Lindo will mark a new era for the Kitchener Centre community and open doors for an exciting provincial by-election,” the party’s invite reads.

In the Liberal corner: KELLY STEISS — who ran in 202…