Monday, June 4, 2007

Campaign Financing in Vaughan

I have a keen interest in municipal election financing, so this story caught my attention.

Linda Jackson, who became mayor of Vaughan in a nasty election battle last November, is now accused of more than 20 campaign financing violations.

Over-contributions from companies that may be associated and unrecorded contributions to Jackson's campaign are among the allegations in an appeal filed today in the Ontario Court of Justice in Newmarket.


However, like certain other city councils, the current Vaughan city council is attemtping to throw accountability and transparancy out the window.

Vaughan residents Quintino Mastroguiseppe and Gino Ruffolo had asked Vaughan council on May 14 to request a compliance audit.

On May 22, council voted to defer the request until Jackson's campaign had filed additional financial records, possibly as late as next February, said Eric Gillespie, the lawyer representing Mastroguiseppe and Ruffolo.

"The act only gives a council 30 days to accept or reject the request for an audit," Gillespie said. "It does not give any power to delay matters for another nine months or more."

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