Financial statements recently released on the municipality’s website show that Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff was easily the biggest spender of the three candidates who ran in last October’s mayoral election.
Canniff spent just over $9,500, and had $9,844 in contributions to spend. Unlike the other two candidates who financed most of their campaigns themselves, Canniff received some help from his friends.
Caniff personally donated $258 into his campaign, but the bulk of his financing ($8,400) came from seven individuals with Brampton, Mississauga and Toronto addresses, who all donated $1,200 each, which is the maximum donation allowed by an individual to a municipal candidate in Ontario.
William Pickard spent $4,199 and had $4,500 in contributions, of which $4,400 was his own money.
Andy Fisher entirely self-funded his campaign, spending $808.
Canniff easily won the election with 75 percent of the vote, while Pickard picked up 15 percent of the vote to end up second and Fisher ended up in third with 10 percent of the vote.
When it comes to financial support, two individuals played a huge role in trying to give certain candidates help to get elected.
Third party advertiser John Cryderman spent close to $6,700 in advertising during last year’s Chatham-Kent municipal election.
Cryderman registered individually as a third party. In Ontario, third parties must register with the municipal clerk in order to advertise in an election.
Chatham-Kent businessman Rob Myers was also a big player in the 2022 Chatham-Kent election.
Although some of the contributions are in both his wife and his name, Myers donated $4,600 to four council candidates. Three of the candidates Myers donated to were successful (Conor Allin, Michael Bondy and Ryan Doyle) and one (Carson Warrener) was not successful in getting elected to council.
An individual may not contribute more than $5,000 in total to candidates running for offices on the same council or school board.