April 14, 2023 at 9:16 am
Spending big on signs, flyers and advertising in the 2022 Chatham-Kent municipal election won’t necessarily pay off.
The two candidates who spent the most on their campaigns missed the ballot for City Council seats, while the three candidates who spent $0 on their campaigns in 2022 were still re-elected.
According to a recently released post-election report to municipalities, Dava Robichaud was the top spender in the 2022 municipal elections in Chatham-Kent, spending more than $9,000 out of her own pocket to pay 12,316.22 dollars for the campaign. She also received $2,620 from eight donors, but failed to win the 6th District seat.
Carson Warrener, who lost his Assembly seat in District 6 by just 10 votes, came in second in terms of campaign spending, which totaled $11,009.25.
Less than $5,000 of Warrenner’s campaign contributions came from “candidates and their spouses” — he also received $5,850 from seven other donors.
The candidate who just defeated Warrenner for the last seat in District 6, incumbent Amy Fenn, has submitted $400 worth of fees for the 2022 municipal elections, but her campaign has spent essentially nothing beyond the cost of filing her nomination any fees. Finn’s $400 donation in 2022 comes from election signs she purchased ahead of the last municipal election in August 2018.
Aside from Amy Finn, the other two successful municipal election candidates in 2022 who have incurred no costs are Aaron Hall and Carmen McGregor. They are both well-regarded in the 5th district because they are the only two candidates running for the two vacant seats there.
In the mayoral race, Darin Canniff won easily without spending too much of his own money.
Canniff’s campaign expenses totaled just under $10,000, with his personal expenses offset by $8,400 from seven different donors. All told, Canniff and his spouse contributed just $258.81 to his 2022 campaign, but he still got 75 percent of the vote.
William Pickard, who finished second in the mayoral race, spent $4,220.91 on his campaign — most of it out of his own pocket, with only one donor giving him $100. Andy Fisher, who finished third, spent a total of $808.
Other top spenders included Connor Allin and Alysson Storey, both elected for the first time in District 6. Allin spent $9,771.06 on his campaign, while Storey’s spending totaled $9,210.
Rhonda Jubenville, who won the 4th District seat, was the only candidate to spend more than $7,000 — $8,163.40 on her campaign.
Three candidates for the 2022 Chatham-Kent municipal election failed to file their fees on time, so they will be ineligible for the next municipal election.
Those candidates are Mike Walker, Jason Sayer and Lynn O’Brien.
O’Brien did file her expense report, but it was filed at 2:30 pm on March 31, 2023—half an hour after the 2 pm deadline.
You can find a full list of candidates’ financial disclosures by Click here.