NEWS

NEWS Mayor is the largest donor to his campaigns since 2018

by Charlie Smith

Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart’s electoral organization, Forward Vancouver, wants all other parties to follow its example and disclose the names of all donors since before the last election.

Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart’s electoral organization, Forward Together, has released a list of all political donations to supVancouver is listed as a donor to Forward Together. People with ties to the development industry—such as Concord Pacific’s Terry port his candidacy since May 10, 2018.

And, lo and behold, it shows that the largest donor has been Stewart himself.

The mayor kicked in $6,039, which is around the maximum allowed over five years under provincial campaign-finance legislation.

His wife, Jeanette Ashe, has contributed $4,839 over four years, which is the maximum allowed over that time period under provincial campaign-finance legislation. She ran for the NDP in the recent Vancouver-Quilchena provincial by-election, losing to B.C. Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon.

Current and former NDP MPs are also listed as donors to Stewart, a former member of the federal NDP caucus. They include Libby Davies ($1,624), Fin Donnelly ($1,450), Jasbir Sandhu ($600), Don Davies ($200), and the now deceased Ian Waddell ($200). Former NDP MLA Shane Simpson is listed as a $103.29 donor; acting Attorney General Murray Rankin contributed $350.

None of the nine sitting NDP MLAs in Hui ($2,463), Wall Financial Corporation’s Bruno Wall ($3,063), and Polygon Homes cofounder Michael Audain ($2,450)— are among those who have donated to Stewart’s campaign. In addition, members of the Aquilini ($13,727.70), Molnar ($13,555.38), Bosa ($10,976), and Rennie ($8,76.70) families show up on the list. According to Forward Together, Stewart’s campaign has raised $1,134,094.22 from 2,473 “eligible individuals” since 2018. That works out to an average of $175.01 per donation. The party has challenged all other mayoral candidates and parties to disclose all of their contributions dating back to the last election. “In 2018, all major Vancouver parties followed Kennedy Stewart’s lead by disclosing who was financing their campaigns and Forward Together believes residents deserve the same level of public transparency in this election,” said Forward Together executive director Mark Hosak in an August 8 news release. g