The province has dragged its feet long enough on bringing in some reasonable limits on municipal campaign donations and spending.
In civic election campaign finance documents made public this week we’ve seen record spending for council seats and chains of office in both our own community and others around the province. We won’t argue that accepting a donation from a person or business automatically amounts to a conflict of interest.
And a bigger campaign budget doesn’t always buy you a win. Ask some of the also-rans who put up a small fortune of their own money about that.
But the perception is bad and for many, perception is reality.
Runaway spending and lavish donations in civic election campaigns sully the discourse at the council table and erodes public faith in the system.
Toronto outlaws business and union donations for municipal candidates. Quebec and Manitoba cap spending in city elections based on the size of the population. We would welcome a combination of either. Local government should not be a hobby for the independently wealthy or a business expense for developers.
Of course, any new rules should come with watchdog power that provides Elections B.C. teeth to enforce them and to investigate complaints. Ultimately, we feel a community is best served by a council that reflects a diversity of ideas, values, expertise and backgrounds — and the best way to get that is to level the playing field. It’s time the wild west of B.C.’s civic elections got a lot less wild.
