Councillor fined $1,200 in election finances case
Laura Dudas, the councillor for Innes ward and a deputy mayor, has pleaded guilty and will pay a fine to resolve campaign finance charges stemming from the 2018 municipal election.
Dudas admitted Thursday to filing an incorrect financial statement and incurring a campaign expense before opening a campaign bank account, violations under the Ontario Municipal Elections Act.
A prosecutor withdrew two other charges, related to campaign finance record-keeping, as part of a plea agreement presented in provincial offences court.
Dudas has agreed to pay a $500 fine for each offence, plus a $220 victim surcharge, for a total of $1,220.
Dudas said she has always taken responsibility for administrative errors in the paperwork of her campaign finances.
“It was an oversight to not count the dozen or so old signs that supporters used as decorations for my election night party or had mistakenly been displayed on private and public property, before being immediately taken down,” Dudas said in an email after entering her pleas.
“As well, a pre-order of T-shirts by a campaign volunteer placed prior to my opening a bank account meant that it was an ineligible expense.”
The city's election compliance committee voted in March 2020 to start a legal action against Dudas after reviewing a complaint about her campaign's financial filing. An auditor paid by the city confirmed some of the allegations.
The committee's decision to start a legal action meant the city had to hire an outside prosecutor to consider charges.
“Though these filing errors were inadvertent and unintended, I still regret that they happened. I firmly believe that all politicians must be held to account for mistakes, regardless of intent,” Dudas said, adding that she'll pay the fine “and commit to taking greater care in any future filings.”
Dudas is the latest councillor to come under legal scrutiny in this term of council, which started in December 2018.
Osgoode Coun. George Darouze, another deputy mayor, was caught on camera texting and driving last November and agreed to pay a fine after voluntarily providing a statement to police.
Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney agreed in September 2019 to give up two months of salary in exchange for having an election-related charge withdrawn.