Garlick won despite spending less -- By Jennifer Smith

Money isn’t everything in Coldstream.

Election spending numbers show that the results of Coldstream’s mayoralty race weren’t necessarily influenced by the biggest spender (although the same isn’t true when it comes to councillors).

The winning candidate, Jim Garlick, spent $3,277 during his campaign, while Glen Taylor topped the spending scale at $5,617.

But when it came to councillors, the top spenders were the ones who got the vote.

Coun. Richard Enns, who was nominated by Bill Firman, spent $2,324 and he received the highest number of votes for councillor.

Coun. Maria Besso was second in spending with $2,131.

Coun. Pat Cochrane spent $1,401, all on advertisements.

Coun. Bill Firman racked up $1,190 in sign, brochure and pamphlet expenses.

But the next top spenders (Lynn Spraggs, Greig Crockett, Perrin Hayes, Mary Malerby and Allen Dubeski) didn’t get elected.

In fact Coun. Gyula Kiss, who was nominated by Coldstream Ratepayers Association president Steve Heeren, only spent $565.

And Coun. Doug Dirk’s campaign spending only cost him $117.

Going back to the mayoralty race, Garlick said he wouldn’t have spent as much as he had if it weren’t for the contributions he received.

“I had a lot of financial help from the community,” said Garlick, whose list of contributors (each at $100) includes Besso, Heeren, Peter Peto (a councillor candidate), Ted Osborne (who manages Coldstream Ranch) Louise Christie with the CRA and a nomination from Enns.

Taylor, who was nominated by Cochrane, had support from Coldstream’s two previous mayors Gary Corner ($200) and Brian Postill ($300), a past councillor Doug Hackman ($200), former councillor Carol Williams ($100), Chapman Construction ($1,000) and the Highlands at Kalamalka Lake ($1,000).

The financial disclosures of spending amounts are required from every candidate who runs in a municipal election.

“This is what they’re declaring, ‘this is what I spent or didn’t spend,’ it’s their oath,” said Keri-Ann Baggett, municipal clerk

All of the candidates from the November 2008 election managed to get their financial disclosures in on time. If they don’t, they are fined $500 and if disclosures still aren’t received they could be disqualified from running in the next municipal election. That happened during the 2005 municipal election – Andy Danyliu and Dominik Dlouhy were disqualified from running in 2008.

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I did not solicit nor did I accept financial contributions! (Gyula Kiss)

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