Dear editor:
I was glad to see the Cochrane Eagle take an interest and publish the financing sources of election campaigns.
This was a topic I spoke about at a forum during the election campaign last fall 2013. At that time, there were suggestions that some candidates in and around the city of Calgary were receiving funding/training from the Manning Centre. There was also a meeting held by Cal Wenzel and posted on YouTube for all to see, about developers donating money to the Manning Centre to the tune of $100k each, for the purpose of getting these candidates elected.
At that time, I had challenged all candidates at the forum to make a public disclosure on the sources of their campaign financing. I was surprised to see that I was not alone, and that a majority of candidates self-financed their election campaigns.
It stands to reason that candidates who have less outside funding are more likely to make better decisions in the interest of the residents of their communities vs. lobbying efforts of special interests. The fear is, as some candidates accept donations from these interests, it sets the financial bar higher for others to run self-financed campaigns, and prices many good candidates out of the democratic process.
While I am satisfied to see that all candidates are forced to disclose the funding of their campaigns, I still believe this would be useful information to release before the election, so that the public can be aware of the sources of funding for candidates before casting their ballots.
What’s reassuring, as Eagle editor Derek Clouthier points out in his opening sentence, “The more money a candidate spends on their campaign does not necessarily translate into being elected”… and that speaks well of the future of democracy in Cochrane, because, as I learned, campaigns matter.
Jamie Kleinsteuber
