Municipal election expense limits have been a long time coming to British Columbia, but according to some political scientists, their impact once in place is uncertain.
Today is the final day the province is accepting feedback on a plan to introduce spending limits for municipal campaigns.
Last summer, the government announced its intention to create new legislation around campaign finances. The Local Elections Campaign Financing Act is expected to be introduced to the legislature this spring. The act builds on a nearly three dozen recommendations from a task force struck in 2010 to study local government elections reform.
If passed, the first phase of the legislation would lay out rules on issues such as third-party advertisers and the length of time for filing campaign finance disclosure statements for the November 2014 election.
Expense limits will be looked at separately and approved for local government elections after 2014.
"In one sense it's fascinating to watch coming from Ontario and having worked and lived in Manitoba and Alberta and then coming here and seeing just how long this issue has been on the table," said Kimberly Speers, an assistant teaching professor with the University of Victoria's school of public administration.
Those provinces, along with Quebec, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, have local election expense limits tied to a formula involving a base amount plus per-elector amount.
"Election spending requirements are common federally and provincially but are a long time coming in British Columbia at the local government level," agreed UNBC political science instructor Jason Morris.
Part of the delay could stem from a perception that municipal campaigns were more amateur affairs than their provincial and federal counterparts, according to Morris, and didn't warrant the same kind of scrutiny and oversight.
"But even in Prince George for the last local election we saw an increasing professionalization of the campaign, particularly among the mayoral race," said Morris. "And if that is not blip but a trend we could then anticipate a greater need for transparency and even regulations regarding election spending."
Mayor Shari Green set a new Prince George record for campaign spending, reporting more than $81,000 in expenses for her successful mayoralty bid - more than doubling that of second-place contender, incumbent Dan Rogers, who spent around $38,430 that year. In 2008, Rogers spent nearly $63,700.
Coun. Albert Koehler spent the second-largest amount of the 2011 candidates on his campaign - almost $40,000.
And while there has been some griping over the fact the expense limits won't be in place for this year's vote, Speers said it's better to have the time for a full discussion.
"A one-size-fits-all recommendation won't fit," she said.
For example, in Ontario candidates are notified of their spending limits based on numbers coming from a municipally maintained voters' list. But keeping a local elector list is not mandatory in B.C. In Quebec, expense limits don't apply to municipalities with fewer than 5,000 people and in Saskatchewan, the municipalities can choose the limits.
A discussion paper produced on the topic outlined a few trends in B.C. local election spending, including the observation that spending is fairly low, it's not that predictable, mayoral candidates spend more than those running for council and that spending in Vancouver far outstrips that of any other community.
But there isn't a central repository of data on election spending, which makes it difficult to tell if local campaign expenses are a serious issue, said Morris.
More than 1,660 elected positions are filled in more than 250 government bodies, including municipal councils, regional districts, park and school boards.
According to the discussion paper, campaign finance disclosure statements might not offer a full and accurate portrait and neither would averaging the expense amounts in a community if one or two candidates spend far more or far less than their competitors.
Expense limits typically aim to create a level playing field, said Speers, but added it has more to do with what's taking place in Vancouver.
"There are concerns that if you're not loaded or you can't get backers from unions or corporations it's 'don't even bother running because you're not going to win.' So [setting limits are] trying to get rid of that idea that basically money will get you a seat," she said.
However, how much a candidate spends is only one factor out of many when it comes to a candidate's success, said Morris.
"We're a little unsure about the impact of what election spending limits would mean because some candidates in local elections spend busloads but others spend nothing. And then sometimes the ones that spend busloads get elected and sometimes not," he said, adding other variables include the candidate's ability, the effectiveness of their campaigning, their policy promises and stance on issues. "So, in general, in politics we know that money doesn't guarantee electoral victory."
For more information, visit www.localgovelectionreform.gov.bc.ca.
