Mayor’s race was close from a budget point of view

PENTICTON – The contest for the Mayor’s chair in last November’s Penticton municipal election proved to be a closer spending race for two of the candidates than the results at the ballot box.

The province recently released financial disclosure statements for the November municipal elections. In Penticton, winning candidate Andrew Jakubeit’s campaign cost $21,888, while second place finisher John Vassilaki spent $19,125.

Third place candidate Jukka Laurio spent a total of $4,106.96.

Candidate Jakubeit listed 36 contributors of $100 or more, while Vassilaki listed 30. Laurio listed no contributors.

Individuals invested a total of $8,400 in the Jakubeit campaign, while Vassialki’s campaign attracted $9,575.

Corporate contributions totalled $13,488 for Jakubeit and $9,550 for Vassilaki.

In a partial breakdown of election expenses, Jakubeit’s campaign invested $9,901.05 in newspaper ads, spending $5,882.34 on pamphlets and flyers, $2,209.95 on internet and only $609 on radio.

Vassilaki’s campaign invested most heavily in signs and billboards, spending $8,470.95. The Vassilaki campaign also invested $6,431.37 in newspaper ads and $3,606.75 on radio. Nothing was spent on internet.

Laurio’s campaign spent $1,909.22 on newspapers, $933.6 on brochures and $831.35 on signs.

The largest contributor to Jakubeit’s campaign was a $3,200 donation from Gary Johal.

The Vassilaki’s campaign’s largest contribution was a $5,000 loan from John and Barb Vassilaki.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.