Sudbury candidates outspent their counterparts in 2014 municipal race
Would-be councillors spend thousands on campaigns, especially in Sudbury
Municipal election candidates in Greater Sudbury spent more on their campaigns than their counterparts around the region during last fall's election.
In Sudbury, at least one mayoral candidate — Dan Melanson — topped $100,000 on his campaign.
Many city council contenders spent more than $10,000, with the average cost of a council campaign in 2014 running $4,816. The big spender was Fern Cormier, who won the Ward 10 seat by spending $12,000 — most of which came from his own pocket.
The second biggest bill was paid by newly elected Ward 9 councillor Deb McIntosh. She spent nearly $12,000 on her campaign. Almost all of that money was donated by citizens and businesses.
Tay Butt, who spent about $11,000. came in second in Ward 12 to veteran councillor Joscelyne Landry-Altmann, who was re-elected on a budget of $4,300.
Meanwhile, in Sault Ste. Marie the average campaign for council candidates cost $3,987, while in Timmins it was $2,505.
Two of the top spenders were after the Ward 4 seat, with incumbent Lou Turco spending $9,243 to get re-elected and former councillor Lorena Tridico dropping $8,509 for an electoral loss.
In the mayor's race, Christian Provenzano spent $41,451 to unseat incumbent Debbie Amaroso, whose campaign bill was $17,197.
But in a good example of how money isn't always the deciding factor, in 2010, Amaroso won the mayor's job by spending $12,398, while her fellow Sault city councillor Jamie Caicco put up $40,075 to finish second.
Steve Black spent $39,919 on his way to beating Todd Lever at the polls. Lever spent $32,997 on his mayor's campaign and in 2010 was far and away the biggest spender among Timmins city council candidates, dropping $16,760, when the average candidate was spending $3,808.
North Bay has yet to release all the candidate expense reports, but Mayor Al McDonald said he spent about $24,000 in his re-election campaign.