Labour-supported candidate Dee Beattie had $7,400 more in her coffers than her opponent in the June trustee byelection, according to disclosure statements released by Elections B.C. last week.
The two-horse race saw Beattie, a retired education assistant and support worker, take on Mary Lalji, who works in public relations for Key West Ford and volunteers with the Hyack football program, for the seventh trustee seat on the New Westminster school board.
In the end, it was Lalji who won the trustee seat by a 60-vote margin, but it was Beattie who spent the most on her campaign; her expenditures were more than $9,500.
According to her disclosure statement, Beattie’s contributions topped out at $12,369.98 and included donations from nearly a dozen unions, including $500 from CUPE 409, which represents support staff in the New Westminster school district; $500 from CUPE Metro; $1,000 from COPE; $3,500 from CUPE B.C.; and $600 from the New Westminster and District Labour Council, which also gave her its endorsement.
Beattie also received personal donations from New Westminster MLA Judy Darcy and staffer Nadine Nakagawa; Mayor Jonathan Cote; and councillors Bill Harper, Chuck Puchmayr, Patrick Johnstone and Mary Trentadue. Current trustees Kelly Slade-Kerr, Mark Gifford, Jonina Campbell and James Janzen also contributed to Beattie’s campaign.
But after the campaign, Beattie still had a surplus of about $4,000.
According to Elections B.C., any surplus of more than $500 must be paid to the city in which the candidate ran. The money is then held in trust for the candidate – in this case Beattie – until the next election. If she chooses to run, her money will be returned to her with interest. If she decides not to run, the funds belong to the city.
Lalji, meanwhile, spent $6,195.64 on her winning campaign. She paid for the bulk of her race out of pocket. According to her disclosure statement, she accepted only one donation – $175 from Tej Kainth, executive director of Tourism New Westminster.
Lalji, however, told the Record it wasn’t a donation, but rather the cost of Kainth’s leftover signs from her 2014 council bid. Lalji said she used Kainth’s remaining signs for her own signs to cut costs.
Another anomaly on Lalji’s statement is the Surrey address provided.
Lalji chose to use the address of a home she owns in Surrey instead of her home address in New Westminster, for privacy reasons.
How much did they give Dee Beattie?
MLA Judy Darcy: $200
Mayor Jonathan Cote: $200
Coun. Chuck Puchmayr: $200
Coun. Patrick Johnstone: $100
Coun. Mary Trentadue: $100
Coun. Bill Harper: $200
Jonina Campbell, school board chair: $200
Mark Gifford, trustee: $200
James Janzen, trustee: $200
Kelly Slade-Kerr, trustee: $200
Marcel Marsolais, CUPE 409: $100
