Abbotsford school board candidates spent just over $45,000 in the local election campaign in fall 2018, paling in comparison to the campaigns for seats at city hall.
In fact, that total, spent among 17 candidates, was about four-fifths of what Mayor Henry Braun alone spent on his election campaign, at nearly $57,000.
On average, school board candidates spent shy of $2,700 each, but the range of spending varied from zero new dollars spent – Rhonda Pauls relied entirely on $500 worth of reused signs – to over $6,900.
Earl Storey, the highest spender, claimed $1,300 more spending than the second-highest, Freddy Latham, who spent $5,611.
Storey finished 10th in the election.
However, while Latham, and several others, spent $2,400 of her own money on the campaign – the maximum amount candidates could use of their own finances – Storey spent just over $500 of his own money, with the vast majority coming from donors.
With a total of 41 donors – 20 unnamed donors who spent less than $100 and 21 who spent $100 or more – Storey claimed just over half of all 81 donors who contributed to school board candidate campaigns.
Among the seven successful campaigns, the average expenditure was about $3,500 – but removing Pauls from that equation bumps the average spending to $4,100.
Find more of our coverage on the Abbotsford School District here.