Elections BC fined the Mayor of Quesnel $1,000 for donating $10,000 to his 2022 campaign.
A July 29 letter to Ron Paull from deputy elections officer Kerry Pridmore said Elections BC’s electoral finance team contacted Paull three weeks after his January 2023 disclosure showed the $10,000 self-donation. They explained that $2,500 was the contribution limit for unendorsed candidates.
Between Jan. 30 and Feb. 6, 2023, Paull and Elections BC communicated about how to return the contribution so as to be in compliance. Paull submitted an amended disclosure statement on Feb. 16, 2023 that said he returned the donation to himself.
More than two years later, on March 5, 2025, Elections BC notified Paull he was under investigation due to the overcontribution.
“You explained that you do not accept contributions and believe it is wrong to do so,” said Pridmore’s letter. “The investigator explained the rules around self-funding of campaigns and explained the contribution limits for unendorsed candidates.”
On March 18, Paull sent the investigator an image of his personal bank statement that showed $10,000 transferred to the “Ron Paull Campaign” account on Sept. 23, 2022.
Under the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act, Paull faced a fine of up to two times the amount of the illegal contribution. Instead, the administrative penalty is $1,000. Pridmore’s letter acknowledged that Paull co-operated with the investigation, returned the contribution, has not been the subject of a previous fine and he showed evidence to suggest he never accepted campaign contributions in the past.
Paull was a veteran city councillor when he upset incumbent Mayor Bob Simpson, the former two-term NDP MLA for Cariboo North, by 1,184 votes to 975 in the 2022 election.
Simpson’s campaign disclosure shows he donated $2,500 on Sept. 17, 2022 to his own campaign and an additional $1,252.97 on Jan. 1, 2023.
