No cheap seats at city hall

By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express

When it comes to a seat on Oshawa’s city council, the adage of “less is more” definitely does not apply.

A study of the recently filed candidate financial statements for last year’s municipal election shows that, on average, candidates who spent the most generally got themselves a seat at the head table.

Under the Municipal Act, candidates are required to disclose the amount of money spent on their campaigns. Those candidates spending more then $10,000 require their statements to be audited by an outside agent. If candidates fail to file their statements by the deadline, they are barred from running in the next election.

Of those elected, Mayor John Henry had the largest price tag on his campaign, spending $44,747.89, a hearty chunk more than his nearest competitor, former mayor John Gray, who put $25,160.66 into his campaign.

However, Henry didn’t earn the title for the most money spent. That accolade went to defeated regional and city councillor Tito Dante-Marimpietri, who spent $46,276.34.

Regional council

Of the seven regional councillors elected, a total of $122,101.42 was spent between them, with an average of $17,443.06 being spent.

The total dollars spent is more than $40,000 above the combined spending of the remaining 11 candidates, which totaled $80,963.10.

On average, all candidates running for a position as a regional councillor spent $11,281.36. This means those seven candidates who earned seats spent approximately $6,161.70 more than the losing candidates who filed financial statements.

Councillor Amy England put the most money into her campaign, which totaled $27,837.33. Newcomer Dan Carter, who spent $25,689.09 on his council seat bid, followed closely behind.

Councillor John Neal took the conservative route, spending the least of any of Oshawa’s regional councillors, with a campaign totaling $7,650.10.

City councillors

Of the three city councillors elected, incumbent councillor Doug Sanders was the big spender with a $9,174.56 campaign. Counillor Rick Kerr spent $8,030.67, with Councillor John Shields behind him with $7,308.74 being spent.

Of the 15 candidates who filed financial statements, an average of $3,751 was spent. This is a $4,420.32 difference from the average $8,171.32 spent by the trio of winners.

Those candidates who failed to file financial statements include Lou DeVuono, who was running for the mayor’s seat; Debbie Grills and John McVey, both running for regional and city councillor spots; and four candidates running for city council, including former city councillor Bruce Wood.