Whether you believe it's right or not, political candidates do get money from a variety of sources when they run for office, from individuals, companies and interests groups, like unions.
Whether you believe it's right or not, political candidates do get money from a variety of sources when they run for office, from individuals, companies and interests groups, like unions.
During the last Cochrane council session, there was a group of people who came out to advocate for the preservation of a Fireside wetland in the face of further development of the community in south Cochrane. Some of these Cochrane residents felt that our mayor, Ivan Brooker, should excuse himself from the upcoming vote on the next phase of development of Fireside because he accepted a donation from the developer during his successful campaign run in the last municipal election.
There certainly could be an argument made about whether developers should legally be permitted to financially contribute to a candidate's bid to become mayor, councillor, member of Parliament, or whatever office they may be gunning for.
But the key word here is ‘argument,' because the fact is, there is nothing illegal about taking campaign donations…and almost all who run for office accept the money with open arms.
Just take a look at the recent provincial election in Ontario, where Kathleen Wynne's Liberal Party marched to a majority government, despite controversies like closing a gas plant for no reason other than to win an election, which cost Ontario taxpayers $1.1 billion.
Union donation's flooded in during last week's Ontario election, as did third-party advertising, which, as any political junkie would know, are almost always misleading to say the least.
Wynne received donations from the teachers', firefighters', commercial workers', sheet metal workers', pipefitters', electrical workers', roofers', public service…you name the union, and she received a donation from them.
Does this mean that Wynne should excuse herself from all votes that deal with any of these unions or the people they represent? What would be left to vote on?
Do Ontario voters now worry about Wynne's potential bias when it comes to her voting on issues like union worker salaries, benefits, etc.? Some might, but considering the fact that she received a majority government, apparently not many are all that concerned.
Some Cochrane voters (how many is unclear) seem to care about our mayor's possible bias when approving or rejecting a development application when he was the recipient of money from that particular developer.
Again, like the situation in Ontario, this is a valid argument, but if people want to bring about change to the practice of developers and other groups donating to campaigns, they have to target their concerns in the right direction - the governing body that allows these contributions to occur within the legal boundaries of the law.
The Progressive Conservative Party in Ontario even went so far as to say it would put limits on third-party advertising during elections if it were voted in as the next provincial government.
This is an idea that those who do not receive third-party support would love, and those that do would hate.
When unions come out in full force, spending tens of thousands of dollars on commercials helping you get elected, this is the worst idea ever. But when you're on the other side, getting blasted on TV, radio and in print, and drastically outspent, is it any wonder you'd want the rules changed?
When voters see these kinds of donations to political candidates, it adds fuel to the belief that ‘money buys elections.'
Does this belief hold true in smaller, municipal elections, like in Cochrane? Not really.
Getting $1,000 from a developer to buy more yard signs doesn't convince people to vote for you.
But it doesn't take away from the fact that if the government stopped allowing anyone other than individuals to donate small amounts of money to their chosen candidate's campaign, it would in the end make people feel better about the decisions being made by elected officials.
