Politics has become so expensive that it takes a lot of money even to be defeated, American comedian Will Rogers once said, and so it is in Maple Ridge.
Elections B.C. has announced the candidate expense limits for B.C. jurisdictions, for the coming Oct. 17 local elections. A candidate running for mayor of Maple Ridge will be able to spend just over $80,000 during the campaign period – from Sept. 19 to Oct. 17.
A city councillor will have an expense limit of $40,600.
The limits are set based on population, so they have been rising fast in Maple Ridge. Smaller cities have lower limits, and large urban centres can have expensive campaigns. By comparison, candidates for mayor in Surrey and Vancouver have a limit of approximately $250,000, and councillors $140,000.
In Pitt Meadows, a mayoralty candidate will be able to spend $22,500 during the campaign period, and a city councillor $11,300.
There are also campaign limits for School District 42 trustee elections, including $40,800 for Area 1, and $11,600 for Area 2 (Pitt Meadows).
More money than this could be spent on a run for office. The limit applies only to the campaign period – but not to the election period that started on Jan. 1, and will run until the start of the campaign period on Sept. 19.
There are also limits on third party advertising, set at $4,000 in Maple Ridge during the campaign period. In Pitt Meadows it is set at $1,100, and for the school district $2,500 for Area 1, and $924 for Area 2. That applies to “directed advertising,” about a candidate or an elector organization. The maximum a third party could spend across all election areas would be $185,000.
The nomination period for the upcoming civic elections will be from Sept. 1 to Sept. 11.