Revelstoke residents weren’t as willing to haul out their chequebooks for local mayor, city council or school board elections as other stakeholders in our community.
Developers and union interests outspent everyday residents in the Nov. 19 municipal election. The largest single donation was $1,600 from the B.C. Nurses’ Union. The Big Bend Development Corporation (the proponent behind the Revelstoke Crossing development) also backed two unsuccessful candidates with a total of $1,000 in contributions.
The biggest spenders by far were the candidates themselves. Many were the sole contributors to their campaigns. Here is a summary of Revelstoke municipal election expense reports filed by the Mar. 19 deadline.
Notes: Figures are rounded to the nearest dollar. Discrepancies between total spending and contributions is assumed to be covered by the candidates.
Mayor:
Sole mayoral candidate Mayor David Raven spent $1,318 and had no contributions.
City Council:
Steve Bender (elected) spent $1,086 and received no contributions.
Rick Hodgson spend $0 and received no contrubutions.
Chris Johnston (elected) spent $556 and received one anonymous contribution of $50.
Linda Nixon (elected) spent $1,708 and received contributions totalling $1,720. Nixon received a contribution of $1,600 from the B.C. Nurses’ Union and $100 from Ruby Cameron.
James Ritchie spent $256 and received no contributions.
Jason Roe spent $1,707 and recieved $1,712 in contributions. Roe received $623 from Black Tie Properties, $400 from the Big Bend Development Corporation, $258 from the Canada West RV Park, $100 from Connie Brothers and $100 from Mike Vopni. Roe also declared a $132 contribution from himself and a $100 anonymous contribution.
Tony Scarcella (elected) spent $1,105 and received no contributions.
Jody Simm spent $0 and received no contributions.
Gary Starling (elected) spent $650 and received $482 in contributions. Starling recieved $112 from Les Daley and $369 in in kind donaitons from SPM Landscaping.
Murray Velichcko spent $705 and received $700 in contributions. He recieved $600 from the Big Bend Development Corporation. He also received $50 from Constance Brothers and $50 from Arvid Zachary.
Phil Welock (elected) spent $75 and had no contributions.
Pat Wells did not file his election expense report by the Mar. 19 deadline. Wells is now facing a $500 penalty and is required to file before April 18.
School Board:
Alan Chell (elected) spent $412 and received no contributions.
Bryan Dubasov (elected) spent $0 and received no contributions.
Doug Hamilton spent $514 and received a $250 contribution from the Shuswap-Columbia Labour Council.
Mauro Morrone (elected) spent $220 and received no contributions.
Jeff Nicholson (elected) spent $579 and recieved a contribution of $595 from J&M Nicholson -- himself and his wife.
Elmer Rorstad (elected) spent $0 and received no contributions.
Jewelles Smith spent $354 and recieved $350 in contributions. Smith received $250 from the Shuswap-Columbia Labour Council and $100 from Jim Gorman.
Annie Wilson spent $0 and received no contributions.