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Those who spent, won in Penticton’s 2022 election

More than $110,000 was spent by candidates in the election
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Outgoing Penticton mayor John Vassilaki looking a bit stunned as the election results come in. Vassilaki said he is retiring from politics to focus on his businesses. (Brennan Phillips Western News)

The Penticton general election in 2022 was an expensive one, with candidates putting in over $110,000 into the race.

The $110,878.60 in spending from council and mayoral candidates equates to roughly $10.96 spent per person who cast a ballot in the election, given the 10,115 voters.

The expenditures for candidates in the last election were made public by BC Elections on Thursday, and it was the ones who spent the most that ended up taking up seats at the council table.

The two biggest spenders were John Vassilaki, who spent $16,055.08 over the campaign and election period, and current Mayor Julius Bloomfield, who spent $17,882.61. With 2,052 votes cast for Vassilaki and 3,374 for Bloomfield, that breaks down to $7.82 spent per vote for Vassilaki and a return of $5.30 per vote for Bloomfield.

Jason Reynen, who came in second place in the mayoral race, with 3,155 votes, spent just $6,113 compared to the other two major candidates, for roughly $1.94 spent to vote received.

The best return in the race went to Owen Hayward, who spent nothing and received 826 votes. Corey Hounslow, who finished last in the race with 492 votes, spent $1,901.93.

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In comparison, the Kelowna election was more than four times as costly, with council and mayoral candidates pouring in a total of $465,847.45 into the race. Out of that, ex-mayor Colin Basran spent $98,150.00 while Tom Dyas spent $93,184.28.

The six biggest spenders in the Penticton council race were also the ones who picked up seats at the table.

Isaac Gilbert was the biggest spender, with $10,977.72 in expenditures, followed closely by Helena Konanz’s $10,822.67. They were the only two to crack $10,000 in spending.

Just below was Cambell Watt, who spent $9,941.37, then Ryan Graham at $7,558.90, James Miller at $6,245.54 and finally Amelia Boultbee at $5,123.25.

Boultbee was both the top finisher in the council race and the most efficient spender, with $5123.25 spent and 5,618 votes received.



Brennan Phillips

About the Author: Brennan Phillips

Brennan was raised in the Okanagan and is thankful every day that he gets to live and work in one of the most beautiful places in Canada.
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