Stone tough to beat on paper

KAMLOOPS – Newly-elected Kamloops-South Thompson Liberal MLA Todd Stone surpassed all other Kamloops candidates in spending for the 2013 B.C. election, outspending his NDP opponent by $70,000.

Stone racked up $158,696 in expenses during the campaign and the 60 days leading up to the campaign, compared to his NDP counterpart Tom Friedman who spent $85,503 in expenses—which was a high total among NDP candidates, suggesting both parties thought it would be a much closer race.

Stone won the election with about 57 per cent of the vote. He did it, in part, by spending roughly $51,000 on media, nearly $17,000 in promotional materials (including the many signs that cleverly decorated area hills during the campaign) and $21,000 in research and polling.

In comparison Friedman spent only $22,000 on media and $14,000 in promotional materials and B.C. Conservative candidate Peter Sharp tallied just under $10,000 in expenses, $4,365 of that amount on promotional materials.

In the Kamloops-North Thompson riding Liberal MLA Terry Lake reported nearly $122,000 in expenses. Lake, who was re-elected with 52 per cent of the vote, also tipped the scales on media, nearly $30,000, and promotional materials, $17,000, and matched the amount his fellow Liberal candidate spent on research and polling.

NDP candidate Kathy Kendall also did some polling, spending more than $8,000 on research, but spent a more conservative $26,000 on media and $13,000 on promotional materials. In total Kendall spent $76,789 on her campaign.

Ed Klop, the North Thompson candidate for the B.C. Conservatives, spent just $8,910 on his campaign, nearly three-quarters of that on promotional materials.

To contact a reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca, call (250)819-3723 or tweet @JennStahn.