Stewart challenges mayoral rivals to reveal donors

Vancouver mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart has publicly disclosed his campaign donors and is challenging his 20 competitors to do the same in advance of the voting.

Stewart, a former Burnaby NDP MP running as an independent in the Vancouver civic election, revealed Thursday that a total of 1,195 donors contributed $123,556.95 to his campaign between May 10 and Sept. 24, with the largest donation, $2,400, coming from Stewart himself. Other donors include Port Moody-Coquitlam NDP MP Fin Donnelly ($1,300) and former NDP MP and city councillor Libby Davies ($400).

Provincial regulations require candidates to disclose all donors contributing $100 or more 90 days after the election, but Stewart says he’s revealing his donors now because it’s in the public’s interest.

“With recent media stories about dark-money and bigmoney influence on elections, the public wants to know who is donating to the campaigns,” Stewart said in a statement Tuesday. “That’s why today I am challenging all candidates for mayor to publicly disclose who is donating to their respective campaigns before Vancouver voters head to the advance polls on Oct. 10.”

Last week it was revealed that $85,000 of developer Peter Wall’s money was used to fund campaign billboards for Vancouver mayoral candidate Hector Bremner.