Click here to ENLARGE FINANCING NUMBERS (PDF)

Campaign finances from the November 2011 civic election are filed online at the Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows websites for the public to see.

All candidates for the recent civic elections in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows brought their financial paperwork submitted in time, although a few did come just before the Monday 4 p.m. deadline, according to Ceri Marlo with legislative services at the District of Maple Ridge.

Many candidates filled out their paperwork differently, in some cases listing personal financing as contributions.

Laurie Darcus, who is the chief election officer and director of legislative services at the City of Pitt Meadows, said she found that sometimes the wording on the paperwork was "open to interpretation."

The financial disclosure papers themselves are "a bit confusing," she said.

There are inconsistencies in how candidates filled out the forms, for example, many candidates wrote down amounts of their own personal money that they had used in the campaign on the financial disclosure form that asks for "list of contributors totalling $100 or more."

In The TIMES' page A3 grid, which listed the amount spent and the amount of contributions candidates received, the amount of personal financing is subtracted from the "contributions" total.

However, any money from family members - including spouses - that is listed in the disclosure forms was included in the grid.

In the case of school trustee Mike Murray, for instance, he was elected in Maple Ridge and listed his contributors as "Mike and Nancy Murray."

The paperwork, once filed, is not reviewed by any government official unless a complaint is made.

Darcus said her role as the chief election officer is to accept and file the paperwork, but not to review them.

"It's up to the public... if they find something that is incomplete or missing, they could complain," Darcus said.

MAPLE RIDGE MAYOR'S RACE

The Maple Ridge mayoralty race looked like it was going to be a shoo-in for incumbent mayor Ernie Daykin.

But just days before the candidate filing deadline, Craig Ruthven, an Albion resident, decided not to run for council as originally planned.

Instead he opted to challenge Daykin for the mayor's chair.

Ruthven ran a self-financed campaign spending $1,140 - about a tenth of what Daykin spent, which was $11,219.

But Ruthven still garnered 4,953 votes, which was about 40 per cent, with his much smaller budget.

mrantanen@mrtimes.com