Political Golf
Calgary mayoral candidate Jeff Davison is facing scrutiny from fellow candidates and the public after reports surfaced about his interim campaign manager, Catherine Brownlee, sending out the details of a third-party advertiser, Calgary Tomorrow, throwing a fundraising golf tournament for Davison’s campaign.
On July 9, Brownlee sent emails to potential supporters promoting the tournament, which is taking place on July 29. The entry price is listed at $400 per person, or $1,200 per team, with sponsorships ranging from $1,500 to $10,000 also available.
Here’s the issue: According to the Local Authorities Election Act, no candidate (or person acting on behalf of a candidate) is allowed to directly or indirectly solicit or accept a campaign contribution if the candidate or person knows that the "prospective contributor is a prohibited organization."
Under the Act, a "prohibited organization" refers to a corporation, or an unincorporated organization, including trade unions and employee organizations.
Those who contravene that portion of the Act can be fined up to $10,000.
Further to that, a registered third-party advertiser or PAC cannot collude with a candidate to circumvent the contribution or expense limits.
Calgary Tomorrow registered with Elections Calgary as a third-party advertiser on May 3 but refused to sign a consent form to allow Elections Calgary to share information about the organization on its website.
After inquiries were made about the lack of public disclosure, a statement from Calgary Tomorrow was provided to LiveWire Calgary.
“We have just registered to have our contact information provided on the City of Calgary Elections site. We expect that information to be posted soon,” the emailed statement read.
Bizarrely, signing a consent form is optional, though five out of the six registered third-party advertisers in Calgary have opted to sign the disclosure.
Mayoral candidate Jyoti Gondek’s campaign manager weighed in:
Jan Damery, who’s also running for mayor in Calgary in October’s election, has filed a complaint to the Election Commissioner regarding the golf fundraiser event, according to Livewire Calgary.
Livewire Calgary also has a PDF of the fundraising email on their site.
Damery’s complaint accuses Davison’s campaign of violating the Local Authorities Elections Act and she publicly called on all candidates to release their donor list:
At the same time, Damery’s own comments have called the changes to the election. On her Facebook page, she says that the $5,000 individual limit makes it ‘harder than ever” for campaigns to fundraise.
Other news stories indicate multiple complaints about this event have been filed. All in all, Davison doesn’t seem bothered.
Is Calgary Really a Bunch of PACs in a Trench Coat?
Another story that dropped last week:
Edmonton Mayoral Candidates First Debate is Private
The Edmonton Journal’s Keith Gerein dropped an explosive column on Friday about the first mayoral debate in Edmonton. It turns out we Plebs were not invited to hear the thoughts of mayoral hopefuls. The event was invite only.
The Journal ran further coverage on this debate where journalist Dustin Cook broke down the event. The hosts, KV Capital, declined to have Postmedia (or any media, really) attend.
The event seems to have been lively.
“The evening got off to a combative start as [mayoral candidate Michael] Oshry left his seat during the opening remarks to address the audience at a podium across the stage. Oshry took swipes at some of his competitors, as well as Mayor Don Iveson, arguing that he has ignored Edmonton’s business community for the last eight years in office.
And Uh This Happened?
In a now-deleted tweet, Brent Trenholm, who’s running in Ward 3, Calgary but has not been elected, decided he’d been elected and that walking out of a blue ring was a good idea:
Readers, sorry our last few posts have been late. Life got in the way! We will be back on our regular schedule next week.
-Danielle