3 mayoral candidates sanctioned for overspending in 2021 Edmonton election

Three candidates who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in Edmonton's last municipal election were sanctioned by Alberta's election commissioner this year for spending too much of their own money on their campaigns.

Michael Oshry, Kim Krushell and Cheryll Watson were issued violations in May for exceeding the self-contribution limit during the 2021 municipal election. The election commissioner's findings were published on Elections Alberta's website.

The Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA), which governs municipal elections in Alberta, says candidates may spend up to $10,000 of their own money on their campaigns.

The legislation also says any amount paid by a candidate's own funds for campaign expenses that is not reimbursed from their campaign account by the end of the campaign period is considered a campaign contribution.

CBC News reported in 2022 that Oshry reported spending $223,250 of his own money on his campaign, according to his campaign disclosure document.

Krushell and Watson's disclosure documents listed self-contributions of $10,000. Both of their campaigns, as well as Oshry's, ran deficits. Krushell's deficit was $161,535, Watson's was $77,104 and Oshry's was $9,967.

Watson and Krushell told CBC News their campaign deficits were unintentional, they have since cleared their debts and they don't intend to run for office again. Oshry has not responded to a request for comment but told CBC News in 2022 that his campaign followed all the rules and accounted for all funds.

Oshry and Krushell paid administrative penalties of $1,500 and $1,000, respectively, in late May and Watson received a letter of reprimand in mid-May.

The election commissioner uses a framework when issuing administrative penalties. Exceeding contribution or expense limits comes with a baseline penalty of 10 per cent of the maximum penalty. 

Penalties may be adjusted, depending on mitigating or aggravating factors, according to the framework.

"The reason for the difference in penalty amounts, and a reprimand vs. administrative penalty is the result of the unique factors and circumstances relating to each contravention," an Elections Alberta spokesperson said in an emailed statement. 

A penalty less than or equal to zero likely results in a letter of reprimand, the spokesperson said. 

Citing disclosure provisions in the legislation, the spokesperson declined to comment on the specific cases. 

Duff Conacher, co-founder of the non-profit Democracy Watch, said the penalties are too weak to discourage violations.