Here's how the last Election was funded
In British Columbia there is no limit on the contributions which can be made to a candidate for municipal office at election time. Campaign contributions are, however, required to be reported in a Statement of Disclosure if the amount given exceeds $100. An examination of the contributions reported by winning candidates in the 2005 election demonstrates that there are very few grass roots in Nanaimo.
Six of our nine municipal representatives got two thirds or more of their campaign contributions in donations of $500 or more.
Put another way, there were 42 individuals and companies who each gave between $500 and $5000 to the winning candidates and funded nearly 90% of all the money spent for their election in the 2005 campaign: 42 out of over 60,000. Does this reflect a healthy democracy?
Looked at yet another way over half of the money spent by the winning candidates came from only 12 donors! Twelve out of 60,000+ !!!
Source: Candidate Filings for the 2005 Nanaimo Municipal Election, City Hall, Nanaimo
Most, if not all, of these large donations are from corporate or union donors.
There is, of course, no way of reading the minds of the recipients of such corporate or union largesse to determine conflict of interest, but it is an axiom of political donations that they at least grease access.
In the 2005 municipal election the three successful first time candidates who were elected to Council spent an average of $6,800 on their electoral campaigns.
Disclosure Statements of donations and Expenses for the 2008 election are required no later than 120 days after the election and will, this time for the first time, be posted on the City of Nanaimo web site. Look and learn who pays for our elections and how the funds are spent.