Unlike their counterparts in Vancouver, New Westminster’s main mayoral candidates won’t be releasing their pre-election donor lists, which would give voters a snapshot of their financial backers in the tight race to lead city hall.
In Vancouver, as a gesture of transparency, the NPA released its donor list last month. Vision followed suit afterwards, but New Westminster voters will have to wait until after the election to know who contributed to the local mayoral candidates.
“Our campaign will meet the legal requirements to disclose the financial statements within the 90 days after Nov. 15,” said a statement from Mayor Wayne Wright’s campaign. “We understand that other candidates will not disclose their financial statements before election day; therefore, we feel it would be an unfair environment unless all candidates disclosed their financial statements.”
Wright’s biggest challenger in his bid for a fifth term as mayor is union-favourite Coun. Jonathan Cote. Quayside resident James Crosty is hoping to split the vote between the two and come up the middle for a win.
In 2008, Wright received $58,850 in contributions, leaving him with a balance of $10,876. In addition to the balance from the previous election, he had $50,625 in new contributions to the 2011 campaign, including donations from individuals, a union and a number of businesses and developers. The heftiest single donation was $10,000 from Aragon, a company that built the Port Royal development in Queensborough.
Other significant donations from developers came from: Gondola Holdings and RPMG Holdings, which both gave $5,000 each; Ballenas Project Management and Plaza 88 Development donated $3,000 each; Wesgroup Properties gave $2,100; and Blue Sky Properties donated $2,000.
In the last election, Cote raised $16,459 in his bid for a seat on city council. The bulk of his donations came from unions, the highest being a $1,900 donation from the CUPE B.C. In 2011, Cote received a total $7,980 in contributions from unions.
He didn’t want to disclose this year’s contributions, saying his focus is on pushing through the last few days of the campaign.
“We are a very volunteer-driven campaign,” Cote said. “My financial agent is my wife.
“A substantial portion of my donations are coming from individuals,” he said. “We will be receiving donations from unions and some businesses, but at this point I’m in no position to be able to release financials.”
Despite receiving financial support from the unions, Cote said he’d like to see union and business. donations “banned from civic elections, just like they do in federal elections.”
“I think there is huge room for improvement with financial reform for municipal elections,” he said. “I’d like to see spending limits put in place, and I’d like to see some restrictions on donations.”
But, in the meantime, Cote said he is forced to play within the system that exists in order to run a competitive campaign.
“I know I’m running against an incumbent mayor who has been very well financed by the development industry in past elections, and unless I wanted to concede the election from Day 1 and not run a competitive campaign, I had to play under the same game rules as everyone else,” he said. “I would love to see reform, and I’ve advocated for that in the past and will advocate for that in the future.”
Crosty said he would release his list of campaign donors if his fellow mayoral candidates released their lists.
“I am happy to do so if my fellow candidates are will to do so,” he told The Record. “If the mayor and Jonathan (Cote) reveal theirs, I’m happy to.”
In the 2011 election, Crosty’s mayoral campaign received donations from a number of individuals and a handful of businesses (the largest was a $1,500 contribution from Starlight Casino). In addition to $13,939 in donations of $100 or more, he also received 286 donations of $99.99 or less from 286 individuals – more than any other candidate seeking election in New Westminster that year.
The Quay resident said he hasn’t raised as much this time around, though he saved on election signs because he can use the previous ones.
“As my own financial agent, I can confirm, as in the last election, I am receiving grassroots support from citizens and family, which will be released after the election,” Crosty said.
In an email to The Record, mayoral candidate Vladimir Krasnogor wrote that his largest single donation in the 2014 election is the $150 he paid out of his own pocket. When he ran as a council candidate in the 2011 election, Krasnogor spent $168 of his own money to pay for campaign materials.
The disparity in campaign financing hinders democracy, he said.
“If someone donates $5,000 and buys 10,000 leaflets that can be sent through the mail that person has much more (of a) voice than a person beats the pavement and delivers the leaflets on their own,” he said.
The election takes place on Saturday, Nov. 15.
