How Ottawa city councillors paid for their 2022 campaigns

One councillor spent thousands out of his own pocket. Another spent more than anyone else, but half the amount came from small donations.

The two dozen people who sit around the Ottawa city council table each spent thousands of dollars last year to buy signs, brochures, and advertising to propel their election campaigns and they took some very different approaches.

Some raised and spent close to the maximum allowed for their wards, while afew were electedeven though they were outspent by another candidate, including those representing the wards ofAlta Vista, West Carleton-March and Barrhaven West.

Some councillors had long lists with dozens of small donations, butothers filed much shorter lists with donors who gave the maximum $1,200.

• Mayor Mark Sutcliffe's campaign raised $300K from just 250 supporters who donated the max

Those details are all found within the financial statements each municipal and school board candidate in Ontario is required to file the spring after the vote takes place.

The deadline to submit the documentation was March 31, but there was a 30-day period that endedMay 1when candidates couldfile late and paya $500 fee.

Johnson raises most

First-term councillorLaine Johnson in Collegeward stands out both for spending $46,702 on her campaign more than any other council member and for managing to raise $23,727 from donors who gave her campaign $100 or less.

Most of her council colleagues raised only a few thousand dollars in those small amounts, althoughnew councillorSean Devine in Knoxdale-Merivalecounted $12,759 in small donations.

Before her election, Johnson's career hadbeenfocused on getting citizensengaged in local decision-making. Shewas one of the first to arrive at the local elections office on nomination day in 2022, keen to represent a ward that had seen a lack of representation under Rick Chiarelli.

Her predecessor wasthe subject of three damning integrity investigations.

"We wanted to make sure that people understood the positivity that was possible through this campaign," Johnson said recently. "Our ground game was really strong."

Johnson said she triedto build trust with residents, and saidmany people tooklawnsigns and donatedwhen they never had before.

She hopesher campaign and its outreach might inspire other would-be politicians,"to show them that we really can have a grassroots campaign and be successful the very first time."

Large donations

In Kanata South, Coun. Allan Hubley raised $40,002 in donations, nearly as much as Johnson. Of that, $38,300 came in from 47 people in amounts greater than $100. Candidates must provide the names of those who gave those larger amounts.

Hubley's statement includes26donations of$1,000 or $1,200, which includes executives in the development industry at MintoGroup,Richcraft Homes, TaggartGroup, Glenview Homes, and others.

Several donations also came in on Sept. 9when Hubley's campaign held a fundraiser where people could meet him and take part in a draw for prizes.

Hubleypointed out, after facing criticism in the past for relying on a few large donors, his campaign worked to find more individual donationsin Kanata South this time around.

"I'm now in my 13th year on council and all the residents I represent know that my decisions are always based on what's best for my community. Anybody who donates to my campaign knows," said Hubley.

• ANALYSIS|Everything you ever wanted to know about developer donations

Osgoode ward's George Darouze, meanwhile, raised $24,000 from 26 people.

"Every campaign, people ask us about the same thing," said Darouzeabout hislist of some big donations in the development industry."It doesn't buy you. It doesn't change your decision on anything."

What matters is the donations are legal, he said.

A few others also received a few large donations from the development community, including Matthew Luloff, Laura Dudas, Tim Tierney and David Hill. Such donations are noticeably absent from other lists, because some councillors had stated publicly they would not accept them.

Funding his own campaign

One new city councillor took an entirely different approach, and put $9,000 of his own money toward his campaign.

"It hurt, honestly, but I was prepared to spend a significant amount of my own moneybecause I knew as a first-time candidate it would be tough to solicit a lot of donations," said Barrhaven East's Wilson Lo.

Lo focused on knocking on every door in his ward, and won a seven-way race with 37 per cent of the vote.

"Money helps for sure, but it does matter where you get to on the ground," noted Lo. "You need to connect with people on a personal level to win these elections."

In fact, Lo spent just $14,613 in total on his campaign, far less than the maximum allowed. New councillors Jessica Bradley and Marty Carr spent similar amounts to campaignin Gloucester-Southgate and Alta Vista wards, respectively.

Returning councillors Glen Gower in Stittsville and Cathy Curry in Kanata North also spent less than $20,000.

Each won their respective races by a sizable margin.