Vision Vancouver spent $2.2 million on its 2011 re-election campaign, with several companies and one union donating $50,000 or more each to the party that elected all its candidates in last Novembers civic vote.
The spending eclipses the $1.9 million the party spent in the 2008 campaign, although both totals dont include what candidates spent on their personal campaigns, which is often separate from parties central coffers.
Were proud that Vision Vancouver continues to connect with people from across the city, and thank all of our donors for being part of making our success possible, said Stepan Vdovine, the partys co-chair in a statement Thursday. The diversity of our support is as clear in our disclosure as it was from the election results, and it continues to be a critical reason for our ongoing success.
Vision Vancouver, which raised $9,300 more than it spent, filed its financial disclosure statements at city hall Thursday. The NPA and COPE hadnt filed their documents when the Courier checked Thursday afternoon. The deadline is Monday March 19.
Unlike previous campaigns, Visions contributors in the 2011 race gave unprecedented lump sums to the party that was created after some of its sitting councillors split from COPE almost a decade ago.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees B.C., which has been a Vision financial backer for several years, donated $155,300, the single biggest contribution to the party. Other big spenders were Lisi Mechanical Contractors ($91,000), Wall Financial Corporation ($80,901), Keg Restaurants ($75,000) and CanAccord Genuity Corporation ($70,000).
Berts Electrical Ltd. in Abbotsford, Five Boys Investments on West Fourth Avenue and John Redekop Construction, also from Abbotsford, each gave $50,000. Bull Housser and Tupper donated $40,000 and Concord Pacific Developments gave $36,250.
A total of 259 organizations and 2,530 individuals donated to the party in the 2011 campaign, which saw Mayor Gregor Robertson re-elected with another majority. Vision also re-elected politicians and elected new candidates to school board and park board.
The documents cover the period from Jan. 1, 2011 to Jan. 31, 2012.
Despite running a $2.2 million campaign, Vision has repeatedly requested the provincial government to impose spending limits and to ban union and corporate donations. The government has yet to implement any significant election reforms.
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