The Long and the Short of Campaign Finance
Ron Bolin: Feb. 24, 2015
The financial figures for Nanaimo’s 2014 election came up on the Elections BC web site yesterday and they present a pile of data for those who are interested in such things.
Total election expenditures as presented came to $298,507, with $154, 206 coming from individuals; $86,636 from Corporations; and $35,000 from Unions.
The top spender spent $61,876. The bottom spender spent nothing.
The top figure gained by any candidate from individual donors was $33,841.
The top figure gained by any candidate from Corporate donors was $36,434.
The top figure gained by any candidate from Unions was $6,750.
By percentages, overall 52% of funding came from individuals, 29% from Corporations and 12% from unions.
The top percentage of funding for any candidate from individual donors was 587%. (This must be an error in interpretation of the form used to capture data.) A number of candidates were at 100%.
Similarly, There is a candidate who spent $1929 which seems to have come out of thin air. Also an error I assume.
The top percentage of funding for any candidate from Corporate donors was 86%, with 84% next in line.
The top percentage of funding for any candidate from Union donors was 68% with two others also over 60%.
Gordon Fuller was allowed an extension of time to submit his figures due to his recent medical situation.
My cursory examination of the figures leads me to believe that there were various interpretations of how various items should be documented, most of which seemed to revolve around how a candidate should treat their own funding of their candidacy and how to treat “in-kind” donations of time or discounts.
It should also be noted that the figures shown do not add up as I have only included 3 of the seven categories of funding. I have not included the figures given for Unincorporated Businesses/Commercial Operations; Non Profit Organizations; Other identifiable Donors; or Anonymous.
If any reader wants more information it can be gotten from the table below which contains the information from which the above summary was derived. If, for example, one wants to know who gave funds of over $100 to any candidate, this information can be obtained from the individual documents. If one clicks on the “2014 General Election Disclosure Statement” located next to the name of any candidate the complete filing of that candidate will be displayed (if you give it a few seconds to go find it and bring it to you).
2015 Council Election Finances related to the Nov. 2014 election.
Enjoy
Posts and Comments on Nanaimo Governance 
It seems that the corporate donations are also accompanied by personal donation by the company owner!
Are we to believe that certain candidates really spent so much of their own money to finance their campaigns?
Or should we suspect that monies were transferred from one account to another so as to hide the donation?
BTW; who is Jamal Enterprises who donated to McKay? I think they have donated before; to what end?
The amount spent by all candidates is high , by Nanaimo standards.
What are we to believe is the reasoning is behind such benevolence?
Donations are seldom made with the good of the community in mind.
Personal or institutional benefit are the prime reasons for such largesse.
Advertised on Facebook during the election campaign period was a ‘Free’ Skate session on November 10, 2014 at the Nanaimo Ice Centre, hosted by mayoral candidate Al Thompson , council candidate Tali Campbell and school trustee candidate, Tania Brzovic advertised as including free skate rental and helmets. Why wasn’t cost of this ‘free’ event disclosed to Elections BC? Who incurred the cost?
With respect to completion of Disclosure Statements filed with Elections BC for municipal election 2015, it seems to me that when a candidate for elected office posts on his Facebook on November 7, 2014 (during the election campaign period BEFORE election day) that he, (Jerry Hong), is offering a ‘free’ concert after the election (in December) in Diana Krall Plaza, as his way of thanking people for their support; shouldn’t the cost that the candidate incurred to hold that ‘free’ concert be disclosed by the candidate on the Disclosure Statement?
Correction: Where I referred to “municipal election 2015” above, it should read 2014 (election day was November 15, 2014)!