Prince George, B.C.- An all party committee  as  unanimously supported spending caps for municipal elections.The Committee recommends  expense limits of  $10,000 for  Mayoral candidates in communities with a population of 10 thousand or less.  All other candidates in such communities would be held to a maximum of $5,000.

In jurisdictions with a population 10,000 or more, the committee recommends a per capita formula to reflect that the size of the community significantly affects a candidate’s campaign costs.

Here’s how  the cap would  work in Prince George:
mayoral candidates have an expense limit of:

• $1 per capita for the first 15,000 population
• $0.55 per capita for 15,000 to 150,000 population
• $0.15 per capita thereafter

So in Prince George, where the population is about 72,000 a Mayoral candidate would be allowed to spend no more than $46,350 on their campaign.
That shouldn’t be a problem for future candidates if you look at the most recent election expenditures by the two Mayoral candidates.
Mayor Lyn Hall spent $41,275 dollars compared to Don Zurowski who chalked up more than $72 thousand dollars in expenses.

Candidates for all other locally elected offices have an expense limit of:

• $0.50 per capita for the first 15,000 population
• $0.28 per capita for 15,000 to 150,000 population
• $0.30 per capita for 150,000 to 250,000 population
• $0.08 per capita thereafter;

That formula means a candidate for Council in Prince George, could spend just under $31 thousand for their bid. If the new cap had been in place during the 2014 ballot, Councillors Frank Everitt ($40,701.53) and Albert Koehler ($31,221.77) would have been over the limit.

To ensure the expense limits are meaningful, the committee also recommends that the spending limits apply to candidates beginning January 1 in the calendar year of the local elections.

“We heard from the public that running for local government must be accessible and affordable. Our recommendations allow reasonable spending, while promoting fair and accessible local elections,” said committee chair Jackie Tegart. “The committee’s report recognizes the importance of local government and the need for fair local elections in a democratic system of governance.”

“The committee unanimously agreed to recommend flexible expense limits which recognize the different needs of smaller and larger communities as well as the differences between mayoral candidates and candidates for other locally elected offices,” added deputy chair Selina Robinson.

The committee’s work was based on significant public consultation, a review of spending data from 2014 local elections campaign finance disclosure statements, and careful consideration of important public policy questions. The committee posted the 2014 local elections spending data used to inform its recommendations on its website, along with the report containing its detailed recommendations.