Several candidates who ran in the 2022 Vanderhoof municipal election have been fined by Elections BC.
Mayoral candidate Kenneth Holden was fined $200 while council candidates Harry Thiessen, William Teichroeb, and Bradley Dejax were all fined $100 for sponsoring election advertising without an authorization statement.
In a letter sent to Holden from Elections BC, director of investigations Adam Barnes explains that on October 6, 2022, Elections BC received a complaint regarding an election advertisement flyer that promoted Holden for mayor of Vanderhoof, as well as three candidates for council and two candidates for school board.
The complaint noted that the ads appeared to be missing the required authorization statements. The same complainant also informed Elections BC about a lawn sign saying “Educate… Don’t Indoctrinate” that did not contain the required authorization statement and that promoted Holden's candidacy for mayor.
Barns said the advertisement flyers in question, promoting Holden’s candidacy for mayor, as well as three candidates for council (Bill Teichroeb, Henry Thiessen, Brad Dejax), and the lawn signs in question, were sponsored during the regulated period but confirmed the ads did not include an authorization statement as required.
Section 44 (1) of the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act requires that a candidate who sponsors election advertising ensure that the advertisement identifies the financial agent, indicates that it was authorized by the financial agent, and gives a B.C. telephone number, an email address or a B.C. mailing address at which the financial agent may be contacted regarding the advertising.
While the maximum penalty is $5,000, Barnes issued a penalty of $200 because, once contacted, Holden cooperatively brought the advertising into compliance and the number of flyers was relatively low, as about only 150 were distributed.
The candidates for school board included on the flyer were not fined as they did not agree to the flyer and were subsequently removed.
Kevin Moutray was elected mayor with 784 votes and Holden came in third with 277 votes. Neither Teichroeb, Thiessen, or Dejax were elected as councillors.
