NW School Board Blog

Jon Ferry's Metro column in Vancouver Province

Jon Ferry wrote a piece on campaign contributions in the Wed. Nov.16, edition of the Vancouver Province. The headline reads: "Candidates should disclose all cash contributions". The byline reads: Taxpayers deserve to know who exactly is funding those for whom they plan to vote for. I won't go in to the substance of the article, I will leave that for you to read.

Regarding the article, I agree entirely with Ferry's position. So do the rest of Voice New Westminster's candidates. That's why we pledged to disclose campaign contributions prior to the election. We lived up to that commitment, when we disclosed cash and in-kind donations  Monday, two days ago. We do believe in transparency. We do believe in the public's right to know.

We also believe that the public has a right to know who is paying for those full page ads, repeated glossy brochures, costly new lawn signs, and glossy endorsements by the local M.L.A. supporting some candidates. Those who know the political realities,  know who is paying for these costly supports just by looking at the last several elections.

Some candidates have up to 80% of their election costs paid for by affiliated special interest groups. The public deserves to know this, particularly when these successful candidates then go and vote on issues the greatly affect these groups. Simply, this does not pass the smell test, or, IMHO, any test for that matter.

Here's the link to the article:  theprovince.com/news/Candidate