Vernon mayor spent 30% less on election campaign than nearest rival

VERNON – Vernon Mayor Victor Cumming spent $9,607 during his election campaign last year, $4,000 less than his nearest rival.

Mayoral candidate Darrin Taylor spent $13,672 but lost the race to Cumming with 3,608 votes against Cumming’s 4,928.

Financial disclosure documents released today, Feb. 5, by Elections B.C. show both the candidates spent well under the allowed expense limit set at $29,959. Mayoral candidate Erik Oleson spent $1,016 coming in third with 990 votes, while mayoral candidate Art Gourley spent $166 and won 229 votes.

The highest spending councillor was Kari Gares who spent $8,751 on her campaign – more than all the other candidates put together. Former mayor Akbal Mund was the thriftiest of candidates who was re-elected without spending a single penny on his campaign.

Newcomer Kelly Fehr spent $1,556 to win his seat while incumbent Dalvir Nahal spent $2,762. Incumbent councillor Scott Anderson spent $598 and incumbent councillor Brian Quiring spent $870. The spending limit set for councillors by Elections B.C. was $15,115.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.