Skip to content

Reader question: candidate donors

Will candidates in St. Albert's municipal election reveal their donors in advance of election day? Read on to find out.
Municipal-Election

Gazette reader David Clayton asks: Will you reveal the names of your donors and the amounts donated at least three days before voting day?

All candidates had 60 words to answer. 

Mayoral candidates:

David Letourneau: Absolutely, and I will do so now. I'm completely self-funded and have chosen not to accept donations. I’m doing my best to respect the environment and my budget, so I am keeping signage down to a minimum while still trying to get my name out there. 

Bob Russell: I will provide anyone who calls me with a list of my donors up to that time. And here is my phone number: 780-459-8274.

Angela Wood: Yes. 

Cathy Heron: My donors are already listed on my website. I believe three days before the election is too late, as advance polls are open now. I have also signed the AUMA pledge.

Council candidates:

Isadore Stoyko: Yes, and I would even sign on to the municipal program where you do not have ties to any political party in which one gives an oath to be non-partisan.

Mike Ferguson: Yes. I have zero donors. I'm showing good fiscal responsibility and spending next to nothing. 

Leonard Wilkins: I am 100-per-cent self-funded. I am reusing my signs from the last municipal election. I only purchased and built 15 more signs so far this year. I also did not spend thousands of dollars on shiny door hangers, either. If you don’t accept donations, you are not indebted to any parties. Who do other candidates owe favours to?

Shawn LeMay: Love this! My website includes this, and I update my contributions daily ($200 to date) and I will certainly disclose all prior to the election. This game is certainly for the wealthy, or well-funded. I can’t imagine having hundreds of signs out there like some others. That’s a lot of Thanksgiving meals that could have been provided for the less fortunate.

Ross Guffei: I will release the financial details of my campaign in accordance with the legal regulations to do so.

Louis Sobolewski: I'm self-funded. I am not accepting any donations, but yes, I believe those candidates that are receiving donations should publish where they are getting their money from before voting day. 

Sheena Hughes: I will make an attempt to meet this deadline. My focus has been on finding efficiencies in my campaign over asking for donations. I believe in walking the talk when it comes to respecting taxpayer dollars, by respecting both my own funds and those from any donations.

Mike Killick: Yes. The Municipal Government Act says contributions and spending have to be disclosed after the election by March 1, 2022, so I support disclosure a few days before. My platform was clearly established and publicly communicated before any donations were accepted. All donations were offered by supportive residents. I signed the AUMA pledge, available on my website. 

Rachel Jones: Yes, absolutely. This is my first time running for city council and I’m happy to have run a very lean, fair campaign in the short time I’ve had.

Joseph Trapani: I am not requesting anyone, or any businesses to contribute to my campaign, that way I have no perceived obligations to anyone. All costs will be at my own expense. I am running for council to represent all residents of St. Albert to make sure our city is safe, well-kept, and properly represented.

Kevan Jess: I have not accepted donations, though some were offered. Do those with donations, under very cloudy new terms of the LAE Act, have obligations to those who supported expensive campaigns with numerous costly signs, most likely not purchased in St. Albert? I budgeted $3,500 of my retirement savings for this campaign, to date, I spent about $3,315. I believe fiscal responsibility needs to be practised up front.

Wally Popik: Yes. I am basically self-funding my campaign, but have received a couple of financial donations from friends at present time (about 8.3 per cent). I have, however, received a great deal of help from many friends and family with building signs, installing signs, and delivering door knockers.        

Gilbert Cantin: The answer to this question is simple for me. I did not finance both of my campaigns (now and 2017) with donations. I self-funded both of them with my own money to a level of $7,700 for both so far. I do not owe anything to anyone so I can make the right decisions once on council. 

Jennifer Cote: Sure! My donor list consists of me, myself, and I.

Natalie Joly: I published donors, donation amounts, and expense information on my website before advance polls opened. This is in line with the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association pledge to provide “pre-election disclosure of campaign contributions and spending.” I’ll update my post again by Oct. 15.

Donna Kawahara: Yes, I have a donor list uploaded onto my website that lists my donors and the amounts, including gifts in kind. I am largely self-funded, with a few small donations. This list can be found at www.DonnaKawahara.com/donor-list/ or on the top menu of the website.

Ken MacKay: I self-funded my campaign in 2017 and I am self-funding my campaign again this election.

Shelley Biermanski: I am self-funded.

Sandy Clark: The names of my contributors are already posted on my website.

Wes Brodhead: Sure, one donor so far — $100.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks