Money can’t buy you love, but if it did the BC Liberals would have won an additional seat in Coquitlam and BC Greens wouldn’t have doubled their vote.
Election expenses published Tuesday by Elections BC showed that Liberals were the big spenders in the May 9 provincial election while BC Greens running in the Tri-Cities spent a comparably tiny sum but still managed an impressive showing.
The report also showed that BC Liberal incumbent Linda Reimer, who lost to NDP candidate Rick Glumac in Port Moody-Coquitlam, didn’t file her expense report by the Elections Act deadline, an error that will cost her $500 in late filing fees. The next deadline is Sept. 7.
Still, even without Reimer’s expense report, the BC Liberals look like they were targeting Tri-City ridings in a bid to boost their numbers or retain their seats.
Coquitlam-Burke Mountain MLA Joan Isaacs, who is now a health critic in the BC Liberal shadow cabinet, spent $106,684 to capture her seat in a close race against BC NDP incumbent Jodie Wickens, who spent $85,811.75.
Wickens failed to get the needed votes, while Isaacs pushed past her to win the seat with 44.28% of the vote, compared to 43.91% for Wickens.
Ian Soutar, who ran for the BC Green Party in the riding, was the biggest Green Party spender, locally, shelling out $5,273.94 to win 11.81% of the popular vote.
In Coquitlam-Maillardville, BC Liberal Steve Kim failed in his bid to win the seat away from BC NDP incumbent Selina Robinson despite spending $107,732.90.
Robinson, who is now minister of municipal affairs and housing in the new BC NDP cabinet, spent $99,650.27 to win her seat. Nicola Spurling, who ran for the BC Green Party in the riding spent just $1.093.42 but managed to win 11% of the vote.
To win his Port Moody-Coquitlam seat, Glumac spent $92,405.71 to snatch the seat away from Reimer, while Don Barthel of the BC Greens spent $1,306, but managed to win 12.11% of the vote.
Meanwhile, in the Port Coquitlam riding, Mike Farnworth, now public safety minister and solicitor general, handily won his seat, spending $62,945 in the process.
His BC Liberal competitor, Susan Chambers, a business woman and Maple Ridge resident, spent only $31,564.44 for her bid, the lowest of any BC Liberal candidate in the local races.
Running for the BC Green Party, Jason Hanley spent $1,427 on his candidacy and earned 12.75% of the vote, the best result of any local Green Party candidate.
