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Union, corporate donation ban for civic elections proposed

SFU professor says changes will bring more accountability to municipal elections — and possibly more slates
Municipal donations
Monday, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson — a former Coquitlam councillor and the MLA for Coquitlam-Maillardville — introduced amendments to the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act that would prevent city politicians and electoral organizations from accepting donations from unions and corporations, and would limit individual contributions to $1,200 for each individual per year.

Local politicians will be scrambling for new ways to fund their municipal election campaigns if a proposed donation cap and ban on union and corporate donations is approved.

Monday, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson — a former Coquitlam councillor and the MLA for Coquitlam-Maillardville — introduced amendments to the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act that would prevent city politicians and electoral organizations from accepting donations from unions and corporations, and would limit individual contributions to $1,200 for each individual per year.


“There’s a lot of money in the system and the changes have been painfully slow,” — Patrick Smith, SFU professor

The change would stop hundreds of thousands of union and corporate dollars from entering local political campaigns based on an analysis of 2014 political contributions. Corporations shelled out $405,576 out of a total $890,319 raised by candidates for Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody councils while unions donated $152,186.

Combined, businesses and unions accounted for 63% of money raised by candidates in the 2014 Tri-City civic elections.

Under new rules, a mix of fundraising and a candidate's own money will likely be the only way to fund campaigns if the legislation — retroactive to Oct. 31, 2017 — is passed.

But a political watcher who has spent 20 years lobbying for more accountability in municipal politics says the most immediate impact of the changes to municipal campaign financing will be the creation of more formal slates.

SLATE POLITICS

Patrick Smith, a political science professor at SFU, says candidates in upcoming elections will likely band together under a shared banner and campaign platform in order to obtain more visibility and pool resources.

“I think that is a good thing that’s needed in at-large system so you can hold councils to account. You can ask them at the end of four years, 'Did you do what you promised?'” Smith said.

Slates are rare in the Tri-Cities but have been tried in Coquitlam, where a group calling itself Protect Coquitlam fielded five candidates in 2014, with Bonito Zarrillo and Chris Wilson winning seats on council and the three other candidates finishing out of the running.

And in Port Moody three years ago, unsuccessful mayoral candidate Gaetan Royer led what many considered a five-member slate, backed by NDP MP Fin Donnelly, from which three candidates were elected — incumbents Rick Glumac and Zoe Royer as well as newcomer Barbara Junker.

Smith acknowledged that slates are not popular at the municipal level but argues that they have positive benefits, especially for the voter who typically doesn’t know the individual candidates but can identify politically with a group.

The changes may even spur voter turnout, typically around 30%, and will bring municipal politics into the “21st century,” Smith said.

B.C. had a reputation of being the “wild west” for campaign donations and the changes are a good step forward but “not the end of the game,” Smith said, pointing out the donations should be posted in real time so people see who is funding campaigns with contributions stopped about a week before the election.

“There’s a lot of money in the system and the changes have been painfully slow.”

NUMBERS ADD UP

How much cash could potentially be removed from Tri-City municipal campaigns?

Based on 2014 election campaign disclosures, $557,762 would be immediately disqualified from the 2018 election campaign, although some of those funds could be donated by individuals.

But to get the equivalent from individuals under new campaign legislation proposed by the NDP government would require politicians to seek handouts from nearly 500 people who would then have to shell out the maximum $1,200 contribution.

Self funding is another option. Last time, candidates spent $225,065 of their own money while individual donations amounted to a much smaller amount of the total raised or $107,492.

Minister Robinson, who accepted $7,500 from CUPE Local 386 as well as $1,500 from the Infinity Group of Companies when she ran for Coquitlam council in 2011, stated in a press release that the changes were required to “make sure that democracy at the local level works for everyone not just a select few.”

The proposed changes will apply to all local elections starting in 2018, including campaigns for councillors, mayors, electoral area directors and school trustees.