New Westminster mayor's race all about money and power

In this corner, union cash. And in that corner, developer donations.

A battle is underway in municipalities across the Lower Mainland, but perhaps nowhere is the role of labour and corporate cash in local politics more clearly displayed than in New Westminster. 

The fight pits incumbent mayor Wayne Wright against former councillor Jonathan X. Cote.

The two seem to genuinely respect each other and worked as allies on the outgoing council, where Cote was part of a majority backed by the powerful New Westminster District and Labour Council.

But this time around, the council has thrown its support - and cash - behind a mayoral run for Cote. That's led to an unusual situation where Wright, a four-term incumbent who doubled the vote of his nearest competitor in 2011, claims he's battling "a machine."

"I can't change it," he says. "It's not easy running against the people that you've been working against for the past 10 years. And I know that some of them feel the same way."

For his part, Cote rejects the characterization, pointing to the $50,000 in campaign donations Wright raised in the last election, the bulk of it from developers: 

"I personally don't think the machine label is an appropriate way to describe my campaign and would say looking at my opponent, that maybe what he's running is more like a machine."

I personally don't think the machine label is an appropriate way to describe my campaign and would say looking at my opponent, that maybe what he's running is more like a machine.- New Westminster mayoral candidate Jonathan Cote

Follow the money

The reporters who broke the Watergate scandal in the 1970s famously "followed the money" all the way to a president, but finding out who's paying for municipal elections in the Lower Mainland is easier said than done. Campaign disclosure happens after the race, not before, so a citizen's best bet to learn who's bankrolling a candidate's campaign is to take a look at old disclosure forms from 2011.

Those forms are available on municipality and city websites in most cases; in places like Burnaby, the information can only be accessed in physical binders at city hall. 

All that's set to change with new campaign financing rules that will see all disclosure province-wide filed to Elections BC after this vote. But even then, how do you figure out how much money organizations are giving, and most importantly, what kind of influence it buys them?

Some unions declare themselves as elector organizations, but what about companies? Developers like Polygon and Onni donated money to a variety of candidates in races around the Lower Mainland in 2011, including New Westminster; what do they expect in return?

"I have never had a developer come and ever put a pressure on me for anything," says Wright. "It's always us making sure what we get what we think is right for the city. They don't come. They don't influence, they don't send a note, they don't have a meeting where they say 'We think you should do this', so they're not collectively together."

Perception vs. reality

Vancouver NPA mayoral candidate Kirk LaPointe has accused his opponent of taking $102,000 from CUPE in exchange for a promise not to contract out jobs at city hall. Vision Vancouver mayor, and mayoral candidate Gregor Robertson has denied the accusation. Both parties spent about $2 million each in the 2011 race; the bulk of that came from developers and unions. 

No one likes being accused of influence peddling, but it comes with the territory. It's possible they're all altruists devoted to democracy, says UBC political science professor Max Cameron. But not likely.

"As long as we're in a world where candidates need money to run campaigns and there are essentially no limits on campaign finance, you're going to get these kinds of issues arising," Cameron says. 

"I think we all know that when you give money to a political campaign, it's because you want influence and you help someone get elected and there's usually a reason for that."

B.C.'s Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development produced a white paper last year that found election spending in Vancouver to be uniquely high and on a continual rise. Parties have called for a ban on donations and a cap on expenses, but until one is put in place, nobody wants to go it alone.

In municipal elections, the paper found "elected candidates almost always spent money to campaign; generally, they spent more money than those who were not elected."

Is banning donations from unions and businesses the answer?

Jonathan Cote says he would like to remove the question of influence from the New Westminster race.

"Personally, I'd like to see union and business donations banned from being able to contribute to local elections," he says. "It's a bit of a wild west out there. At this point in time, I certainly do receive donations from unions and I don't hide that. But I do that because it's the only way I can compete in today's electoral climate."

Two other candidates are running to lead New Westminster: James Crosty and Vladimir Krasnogor. Crosty came in second to Wright in 2011. He raised $19,000 in that race from a variety of individuals and a number of companies, including Starlight Casino, who donated $1500. He says he's reaching out to developers this time around. He says questions about money are fair game.

If you want to take that money then you have to take the responsibility that goes with it. The same with district labour. If you want to take that money from the unions, there's responsibility that goes with it.- New Westminster mayoral candidate James Crosty

"If you want to take that money then you have to take the responsibility that goes with it. The same with district labour. If you want to take that money from the unions, there's responsibility that goes with it," Crosty says. "Everybody says I don't have to do anything they tell me to do, but we all know that's not real life."

Krasnogor really is a man without a machine. But he says he's armed with his beliefs.

"It does help if you have a machine behind you, but beside the machine, you need to have a conviction," he says. "If I don't win - I'll definitely show that I'll make a difference."