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Crouse tops list of election spenders

Mayor Nolan Crouse spent around $30,000 on his re-election campaign while challenger Shelley Biermanski spent around $5,000, according to estimates provided by the candidates.

Mayor Nolan Crouse spent around $30,000 on his re-election campaign while challenger Shelley Biermanski spent around $5,000, according to estimates provided by the candidates.

Crouse estimates he spent more than $10,000 on newspaper ads, about $8,000 on billboards, $5,000 on brochures and other visuals and about $1,000 on signs.

"I had revenue coming in throughout the campaign so it was easier for me to have a strong strategy," he said.

Biermanski said she spent between $5,000 and $6,000, all her own money.

"That's the craziest part about this whole politics, all the advertising and who has the most signs," she said. "When you're a person kind of starting out, the donations just aren't there."

Crouse won handily with more than 10,000 votes while Biermanski had just less than 5,000.

In 2007, Crouse and his wife contributed between $15,000 and $20,000 of their own money toward his campaign but this time he spent only $1,000 of his own money, he said. In fact, donations were so plentiful that Crouse has a surplus of $10,000 to $15,000.

Surpluses must be held in trust and used in the next election or, if the candidate doesn't run again, donated to charity or given to the city.

Candidates must provide receipts for all campaign contributions and expenditures and have until March 1 of next year to file a disclosure statement with the city.

Crouse said he ramped up his advertising this campaign in response to anonymous ads in the local media that targeted the incumbent council.

"I thought that they were likely resonating with voters, so I had to counter those in some fashion," he said. "I did counter it with equally visual Nolan Crouse stuff."

Council spending

On the council side, the highest estimate reported was $15,000 by Malcolm Parker. He noted, like many candidates, that the costs were preliminary estimates as some invoices are still coming in.

The cheapest campaigns were run by Aisling Pollard-Kientzel, who spent only $500 and Norm Harley, who spent $525.

Several candidates were in the $10,000 to $13,000 range.

Cathy Heron spent about $13,000. She felt, as a newcomer, she had to spend more money than some others to get her name out there.

"I've heard in the past that it doesn't guarantee a win," she said.

Cam MacKay learned to stop asking homeowners he visited if they wanted a lawn sign, after learning they cost between $6 and $10 each.

In the end he spent between $10,000 and $15,000, he said.

Spending is a factor in election success, but just one of many, he said.

"I think the advantage kind of ends after $10,000," he said.

Incumbent councillor Roger Lemieux spent about $13,000 on his campaign. He ramped up his advertising to counter what he called "vigilante groups" who were targeting council with anonymous ads.

"The vigilante groups, the opponents, were very aggressive this time and you had to try and defend yourself. The only way to defend yourself is beef up your campaign," he said.

Len Bracko spent between $10,000 and $11,000.

"I think the most important is door-knocking," he said.

First-time councillor Wes Brodhead believes there's a direct correlation between spending and votes because getting a message out requires advertising. But a couple of organizational snafus had him forego some campaign literature, so he ended up spending just $5,000, far less than he'd planned.

"A lot of people outspent me by a lot," he said. "To every rule there's an exception and I think my campaign this year was an exception."

Stanley Haroun spent in the range of $8,000 to $10,000.

"I firmly believe that door-knocking is very, very effective," he said.

Robyn Morrison spent about $2,000, she said.

Gareth Jones said he doesn't have enough information yet to estimate his spending.

James Burrows didn't respond to a voicemail request.

Van Damme

Crouse said people are openly questioning whether council candidate James Van Damme exceeded the $10,000 personal spending limit. Van Damme was the first candidate to enter the race, declaring last December before embarking upon a long-time advertising campaign.

"Most people I speak with have questioned whether or not he has followed the rules," Crouse said.

He said council will watch what's reported and take steps if necessary, though he's not sure what role the mayor and council have if a candidate breaks provincial legislation.

"The community will expect the mayor and council to uphold good standards. We'll have to assess that when the time comes."

Van Damme said his campaign was entirely self-funded. His team looked at the financing rules and feels it's done nothing wrong, he said. He didn't have a cost figure to share.

"I don't know if it's best for me to comment on that right now just because I don't have any definite figures," he said.

Candidates can only contribute a maximum of $10,000 to their own campaign. But if a campaign is completely self-funded, the requirement to submit a disclosure statement is waived, says the city's candidates handbook for the 2010 election.

Box info

Candidate Estimated spending Votes

*Nolan Crouse $30,000 10,778

Shelley Biermanski $5,000 to $6,000 4,955

*Cathy Heron $13,000 9,904

*Cam MacKay $10,000 to $15,000 7,565

*Malcolm Parker $15,000 7,030

*Len Bracko $10,000 to $11,000 6,590

*Wes Brodhead $5,000 6,467

*Roger Lemieux $13,000 6,176

James Burrows did not respond 6,162

Gareth Jones no costs provided 5,893

Stanley Haroun $8,000 to $10,000 5,297

James Van Damme no costs provided 4,834

Robyn Morrison $2,000 4,627

Norm Harley $525 4,633

Aisling Pollard-Kientzel $500 2,897

* denotes elected candidate

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