Stouffville audit committee clears former mayor Justin Altmann, C3 candidates

Yorkregion.com
August 8, 2019
Simon Martin

The probes of former Whitchurch-Stouffville mayor Justin Altmann’s activities have continued post-election.

Local resident Paul Greenhalgh raised questions about the integrity of Altmann’s election-related expenses along with those of the pro-Altmann slate of candidates, the C3 collective, and Ward 2 Coun. Maurice Smith.

Greenhalgh asked the town’s joint compliance audit committee for an audit of Altmann, Smith, and candidates Kesha Wint, Ellen Gowland, Keith Singer, Brian Sankarsingh, Jenny Altmann and Rob Hargrave.

Over the course of two committee meetings in June and July the audit committee said the aforementioned candidates did not warrant a compliance audit of their election-related expenses.

In the committee’s decision on Altmann and the C3 candidates, they said they were satisfied that there was no contravention of the Municipal Elections Act.

Greenhalgh had raised concerns about donations received from Christine Yang by many of the C3 candidates.

The audit committee had ordered to commence legal proceedings against Yang in June for an apparent violation of the contribution limit in the 2018 election.

Town clerk Gillian Angus-Trail’s report on the matter said that contributions for six candidates for office on the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville council were made under various names; specifically, Christine Yang, Mei Yang and Mei Rong Yang. According to the report all the contribution made under these names were from Christine Yang and totalled $6,600.

The contribution limit for an individual is $5,000

The audit committee report showed that it appeared Yang exceeded the limit by $1,600.

The report from Trail said Yang donated $1,200 to Justin Altmann, Jenny Altmann, Hargrave, Singer and Sankarsingh as well as $600 to Kesha Wint.

In its reasoning, the audit committee said any alleged overcontribution by a contributor does not give rise to an apparent contravention by the candidate.

Wint said that C3 members knew the campaign was going to come under heavy scrutiny so they kept detailed records. Hargrave’s representative called it nothing more than a “fishing expedition.”

Altmann’s accountant James Wilson said he was offended by some of the assertions made by Greenhalgh about his client’s financials.

“I never helped anybody cheat on anything,” Wilson said. “To be accused of this is rather offensive.”

Altmann told the committee that he was prepared for someone to question his campaign finances as he has had to audit his house, his wedding and his daughter’s baptism. He had detailed binders of every transaction.

Altmann also said he didn’t know other candidates received campaign donations from Yang.

Greenhalgh said he was concerned that C3 acted like a quasi-political party that stretched the fairness of the system.

In Smith’s case, he told the committee he received an envelope from an unknown person in late summer 2018.

Smith recalled the envelope contained a bank draft in the amount of $1,200, apparently as a contribution to his campaign.

According to Smith he did not cash the draft and returned it to the sender. The audit committee wrote they were satisfied there was no contravention of the municipal act rules by Smith.

During the 2018 election campaign, Justin Altmann and the slate of C3 candidates had their signs removed from the old Ringwood Restaurant.

At the time the town said the property, which was to be the future site of the C3 campaign office, was not zoned for office use.

According to the town, given the location at the southwest corner of Hwy. 48 and Stouffville Road was not suitable for a campaign office, all were in breach of the bylaw stating election signs cannot be erected before Sept. 24.