Spending big on signs, flyers, and advertising didn't necessarily pay off in the 2022 municipal election in Chatham-Kent.
The two candidates who spent the most on their election campaigns missed out on being voted in for a spot on municipal council while three candidates who spent $0 in 2022 for their campaign still got re-elected.
According to post-election reports filed with the municipality that were recently made public, Dava Robichaud came in as the top spender for the 2022 municipal election in Chatham-Kent, putting up more than $9,000 of her own money towards her total campaign expenses of $12,316.22. She was also supported by $2,620 from eight donors in a failed bid at winning a seat in Ward 6.
Carson Warrener, who lost out on a council seat in Ward 6 by just 10 votes, came in second in terms of election campaign spending with his expenses totaling $11,009.25.
Just under $5,000 of Warrener's campaign contributions came from "the candidate and spouse"-- he also received $5,850 from seven other contributors.
The candidate who just edged Warrener out for the final spot in Ward 6, incumbent Amy Finn, filed just $400 worth of expenses for the 2022 municipal election, but essentially spent nothing on her campaign except for the cost of filing her nomination. The $400 that Finn contributed in 2022 was from election signs that she bought in August 2018 prior to the previous municipal election.
Other than Amy Finn, the two other successful municipal election candidates who didn't incur any expenses in 2022 were Aaron Hall and Carmen McGregor. They were both acclaimed in Ward 5 because they were the only two candidates running for the two open seats there.
In the mayoral race, Darrin Canniff didn't have to spend much of his own money to win handily.
Canniff's campaign expenses totaled just under $10,000 and his personal costs were off-set by $8,400 from seven different contributors. All told, Canniff and his spouse only contributed $258.81 of their own money towards his campaign in 2022 but he still finished with 75% of the vote.
William Pickard, who finished second in the mayoral race, spent $4,220.91 on his campaign -- most of that was out of his own pocket with only one contributor giving him $100. Andy Fisher, who finished third, spent $808 total.
Other top spenders included Connor Allin and Alysson Storey, who both were both elected for the first time in Ward 6. Allin spent $9,771.06 on his campaign while Storey totaled $9,210 in expenses.
Rhonda Jubenville, who won a seat in Ward 4, was the only other candidate with more than $7,000 in expenses -- she spent $8,163.40 on her campaign.
Three candidates who ran in the 2022 municipal election in Chatham-Kent failed to file their expenses on time, so they won't be eligible to run in the next municipal election.
Those candidates are Mike Walker, Jason Sayer, and Lynn O'Brien.
O'Brien did file her expense report, but it came in at 2:30 p.m. on March 31, 2023 -- half an hour after the 2 p.m. deadline.
You can find the full list of the candidates' financial disclosures by clicking here.
