SURREY — Financial disclosures published Aug. 15 reveal that Surrey-wide, the BC Liberal party doubled BC NDP spending in the 2017 election.
When combining all nine Surrey ridings, the BC Liberals spent $1,207,420 to the NDP’s $598,371.
- SEE ALSO: ELECTION 2017: Surrey — a city divided
Surrey’s biggest-spending candidate was former BC Liberal cabinet minister Peter Fassbender, who dropped more than $317,000 to lose his Surrey-Fleetwood seat to BC NDP Jagrup Brar.
Fassbender spent more than three times his NDP counterpart Jagrup Brar, $317,872 compared to $96,609.
Big expenses for Fassbender’s campaign included $43,212 on media advertising, $68,908 on newsletters and promotional material such as signs, and $78,042 on office rent and utilities.
Brar’s biggest expense was $26,080 on newsletters and promotional material and others included $6,583 on office rent and utilities, as well as $36,045 on salaries and benefits.
Surrey-Cloverdale BC Liberal MLA Marvin Hunt spent 15 times as much as the riding’s next highest spender. According to the disclosures, Hunt spent $84,308 to NDP candidate Rebecca Smith’s $4,860.
Hunt, who won the seat, spent $11,612 on media advertising while Smith spent $588. Hunt spent nearly $16,000 for promotional material and Smith claimed just under $1,300.
In the Surrey-Green Timbers riding, NDP’s Rachna Singh defeated Liberal challenger Brenda Locke in the riding that was long held by NDPer Sue Hammell, who recently retired from politics.
Singh spent $84,400 on her successful campaign, including $18,900 on promotional materials, $7,500 on office rent and utilities, $5,000 on research and polling, $31,200 on salaries and benefits and $5,600 on telecommunications.
Liberal opponent Locke, meanwhile, spent $70,505 on her campaign which included $19,801 on promotional materials, $7,847 on office rent and utilities, $4,650 on salaries and benefits and $13,281 on telecommunications.
NDP’s Gary Begg ousted the Liberal Amrik Virk in the new Surrey-Guildford riding and it turns out, they spent similar amounts on their campaigns.
Virk spent $114,831 to Begg’s $100,471.
Large expenses for Virk included $11,735 on furniture and equipment, 28,831 on media advertising, $21,099 on newsletters and promotional materials, $9,464 on office rent and utilities, and $2,700 on salaries and benefits.
Begg spent a good chunk of cash on salaries and benefits ($37,102), and other expenses included $17,189 on promotional materials such as signs, $14,049 on research and polling and $5,911 on office rent and utilities.
NDP’s Harry Bains spent $91,799 on his successful campaign to be re-elected in Surrey-Newton, compared to his unsuccessful Liberal counterpart Gurminder Singh Parihar’s $148,711.
Bains spent $23,711 on signs and brochures, $11,846 on salaries and benefits, $10,816 on office rent and utilities, $17,792 on social functions and thank-you parties, and $5,579 on telecommunications.
Parihar spent $61,983 on media advertising, $13,115 on data processing and information technology, $11,794 on signs and brochures, $11,691 on office supplies, $6,666 on meeting fees and rentals and $20,108 on salaries and benefits.
NDP’s Bruce Ralston spent $76,163 on his successful bid to be re-elected in Surrey-Whalley, a riding he’s held since 2005.
Ralston spent $17,468 on signs and brochures, $14,524 on professional services, $20,590 on salaries and benefits, $3,101 on furniture and equipment and just over $4,000 on office rent and utilities.
Ralstons’s Liberal challenger Sargy Chima spent $155,399 on her unsuccessful bid, which included $47,159 spent on media advertising, $36,454 on signs and brochures, $14,102 on office rent and utilities, $11,457 on postage and courier and exactly $17,000 on salaries and benefits.
Surrey-Panorama BC Liberal candidate Puneet Sandhar led the pack in that riding, spending $171,542 only to lose the May 9 election to NDP MLA Jinny Sims, who tallied $100,521 in expenses.
The biggest discrepancy between the two candidates was Sandhar’s $55,462 bill on media advertising, compared to Sims’ $2,210. Sandhar also spent $67,153 on newsletters and promotional material, while Sims’ spent $29,003.
Surrey South BC Liberal MLA Stephanie Cadieux spent $68,037 to secure the newly created seat, while her opponent, NDP candidate John Silviera, spent $19,690.
Cadieux spent $13,200 on media advertising and $19,128 on newsletters and promotional material.
Surrey-White Rock BC Liberal MLA Tracy Redies spent $76,215 to win the election. Her nearest opponent, New Democrat Niovi Patsicakis, spent $23,858.
Redies spent $15,244 on promotional material and $12,350 on media advertising, her two largest expenses. Patsicakis spent $120 on media advertising and $7,504 on promotional material.