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Ajax mayor says Di Ianni charges proof of need
for election reform
July 30, 2006
Ajax mayor Steve Parish has written to the provincial government urging reform of the Municipal Election Act, and citing the charges against Mayor Di Ianni as evidence of widespread domination of municipal governments by developers.
In a July 20 letter to the minister of municipal affairs, John Gerrettsen, Parish decries numerous "abuses and violations" of the Municipal Elections Act and says that "what took place in the Di Ianni case is not unique but was repeated on numerous occasions throughout municipalities in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) and beyond."
Parish calls on Gerrettsen and others in the McGuinty government to end "the domination of municipal elections by the development industry." His letter also argues that Gerretsen's planning reforms such as the Greenbelt and Places to Grow policies will not survive without election financing reform, despite widespread public endorsement.
"Municipal councils whose elections are substantially funded by a development industry that profits from sprawl developments on green fields will not support these policies," wrote Parrish. "The very briefest of reviews of campaign contribution data from the 2003 Municipal Elections shows that there were numerous abuses and violations of the Act, especially in the area of multiple contributions by related companies to the same candidate."
The letter also praises Joanna Chapman for "highlighting the multiple contributions to Hamilton Mayor Larry Di Ianni" and suggests the difficulties she has gone through in obtaining action on these apparently illegal activities show that "enforcement of the legislation is a serious concern".
An analysis of donations by York University professor Robert MacDermid found that in Ajax "developers and building services and contractors taken together made up about 80 percent of the corporate contributions". However, almost 90 percent of Parish's funds came from individuals, a situation unique among successful suburban mayoralty candidates in 2003 in the GTA. The three-term mayor captured over two-thirds of the vote, despite strong funding of his opponent by development interests.
MacDermid's review found that the development industry financed the winning mayoralty candidates in Whitby, Markham, Richmond Hill, Oshawa, Brampton and Vaughan. In the first three communities, development money went exclusively to the winning candidate with none at all donated to the candidate who came in second. In Vaughan, the winner got $137,900 from the development industry, while the runner-up received only $6,450.
Ajax is one of a handful of Ontario communities that have instituted a rebate program for individual election donations - something permitted by provincial legislation, but not required. The town refunds 75% of the first $100 of donations, and 50% of those over $100 to a maximum refund of $150.
As in the City of Toronto, the rebates are not provided for corporate or union donations. The Ajax rules also state that "no rebates will be granted to individuals for contributions made to a candidate's campaign after voting day."
Ontario's legislation allows candidates to raise money for more than a year after the election, something that Joanna Chapman has criticized. Mayor Di Ianni, for example, collected over 60 percent of his donations after he was elected mayor. In a presentation to councillors in March, Chapman said "This seems a bit like being permitted to bet on a horse after the race has been won".
Parish's letter to Gerrettsen can be viewed on the CATCH website at http://www.hamiltoncatch.org/pdfs/Ajax-mayor-letter-Gerrettsen.pdf.
More information about the MacDermid study can be found at http://www.hamiltoncatch.org/articles/art_0606/art_060603developer.htm.
Ajax 's election policies are available on the town's website at http://www.townofajax.com/English/page-1-638-1.html. The town also posts the financial statements of candidates.
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