J Swap’s $7000 mayoral campaign donation
A $7000 stamp of approval from a large rural company may have given a Waikato mayoral hopeful the edge over his rival.
Matamata-Piako District Council’s new mayor Ash Tanner won the mayoral chains in October, gaining 1093 votes above his competitor, two-term incumbent Jan Barnes.
However, Tanner received the highest ever donation in MatamataPiako general election history from Matamata’s J Swap Construction.
Under the Local Electoral Act, candidates running in the general elections must declare all electoral donations that exceed $1500 as well as electoral expenses during their campaign.
Well-known in the community, the family-owned Matamata business donated $7590 towards Tanner’s mayoral campaign allowing the mayor to save substantial dollars on electoral signs.
‘‘It wasn’t a cash thing, but [J Swap] supplied for a majority of my electoral signs ... obviously it was a huge help for me,’’ Tanner told Stuff. He said thanks to the donations he could properly cover all three towns and wider areas, such as the lower Kaimai Range and Tahuna.
‘‘I’m sure it [having the support from J Swap] would have factored into more votes. It’s always great when you have people supporting you and especially people who are well known in the district backing you.
‘‘I think they chose to support me because I’m a straight-up person, I have the experience now in Council and maybe common sense, but you’ll have to ask them.’’
Tanner wasn’t the only candidate to get the J Swap seal of approval. Matamata Ward candidate Joanne Aoake received $1200 from the company for signs and postcards. Yet for the second time round Aoake did not get in.
Stuff contacted J Swap director David Swap about the company’s $7590 donation to Tanner. He said he was not aware of this and refused to comment.
Tanner spent $4335 towards his mayoral campaign and $300 towards his councillor campaign. Barnes spent the most, $5643.78, however, her highest electoral expense total was $12,666.84 in the 2013 general election.
Meanwhile, Matamata Ward candidate Terry Magill spent $1449.70, the most for a councillor candidate who didn’t get in. Morrinsville Ward councillor Bruce Dewhurst spent $3718.27, the most overall.
Te Aroha Ward councillor Teena Cornes, however, won her position once again with zero expenses, using old electoral signs from previous years.