Richmond Hill election campaign expenses revealing


Yorkregion.com
March 31, 2015
By Kim Zarzour

Longtime residents say it was one of the craziest, most hotly contested municipal elections in memory, and looking back, it was an expensive one, too.

The 34 council candidates spent tens of thousands - or sometimes virtually nothing - to win your votes. Some of them were left holding the bag, but no public office.

The province sets out rules to follow, such as maximum of $750 for donations, set limit on expenses depending on the position candidate is vying for, and the deadline for all financial statements to be filed last Friday at 2 p.m.

Not everyone did so.

Mayoral candidate Anastasios Baxevanidis did not file his expenses by the deadline, so is banned from running for office in the next election. Ward 2’s Ally Hemani is similarly banned in the 2018 election for expenses violation under the Municipal Elections Act.

Filed expenses statements are now on view at RichmondHill.ca.

Corporate and developer donations have long been a bone of contention, and there were familiar names on the donor list of many candidates, such as Metrus, Yorkdale, Greenpark and Baif. There are also developers who gave under their company name and also made individual donations, many in the same family, such as DeGasperis and TACC.

Other names that appear on the donor lists are interesting, such as donor Rob Ford, then controversial Toronto mayoral candidate, giving $750 to Carmine Perrelli mayoral campaign. (Perrelli fended off rumours throughout his term of office that he was somehow linked to Ford, rumours fanned when he took to media airwaves to defend the former Toronto mayor).

Which type of corporation donated to a candidate can also say a lot. Some developers may favour a candidate seen as pro-development, while a pro-public transit candidate may receive support from a bus shelter company, for example. Some developers seem to be generous to competitors - some members of the DeGasperis family supported both Dave Barrow and Perrelli, for example.

Some candidates refuse donations from particular corporations, others refuse all corporate donations on principle.

Here’s a quick look, with successful candidate(s) at the top of each listing. For more, check richmondhill.ca

MAYORAL CANDIDATES
The two main mayoral candidates each raised a little over $94,000, but Perrelli spent more - $93,595 vs $92,246 spent by incumbent Dave Barrow. Candidate Sridhar Methuku dropped out of the race on the final deadline day, and Baxevanidis did not file expenses.

Dave Barrow:
Income - $94,760
- $15,000 from candidate
- $26,700 corporations, $40,600 individuals

Expenses - $92,246
- spent $12,918 on signs, $39,110 on brochures/flyers,$14,208 on advertisements

Carmine Perrelli
Income - $94,200
- $30,000 from candidate
- $28,100 from corporations, $47,600 from individuals

Expenses - $93,596
- spent $13,490 for signs, $62,653 brochures/flyers and $12,083 in ads

Sridhar Methuku
Income - nothing declared
Total campaign expenses $9,710
Virtually all his expenses - $9,560 - went towards brochures and flyers.

He also incurred another major expense that won’t appear on any official campaign statement - payment for Barrow’s legal fees when he launched a court battle charging conflict of interest on Barrow’s part, which Methuku lost.

REGIONAL COUNCILLOR CANDIDATES

Vito Spatafora
Total Income - $66,821
- $20,750 from individuals, $37,761 from corporations

Expenses - $66,580
- spent $7,779 on signs, $23,160 flyers/brochures

Brenda Hogg
Total income - $19,445
- $7,531 from corporations, $2,400 from individuals
- candidate contributed $5,429,

Total expenses $24,225
- spent $5,700 for signs; $12,270 in brochures

Joe DiPaola
Total income - $44,850
- $21,500 from individuals; $23,350 from corporations

Expenses - $74,482
- spent $38,301 on signs, $14,227 on flyers/brochures

David Cohen
Total income - $28,992
- $9,245 from individuals, $8,441 from corporations; $9,151 from candidate

Expenses - $31,252
- spent $5,021 on signs, $6,755 on flyers/brochures

Karen Trofimchuk
Total income - $4,468
- $2,238 from individuals (as stated)
$1,880 from her and spouse

Expenses - $5,077
Most expenses, $4,238, went towards signs