Endorsement ads were solo effort, Ziebarth says
When Mark Ziebarth ran a series of newspaper advertisements during the lead-up to last year’s municipal election, he did so simply as an individual voicing his own views.
“I chose to run an independent expenditure campaign,” he said, adding that he wanted to present his message, not filtered through a candidate’s advertising campaign.
The ads, which bore the name, Citizens for Smart Governance, ran during a four-week period.
The last of the four advertisements, just days before the election was held, came out in support of mayoral candidate Janice Perrino, while the other three outlined his views on the direction he wanted to see from the new council.
Ziebarth said he did not register and report the financial details of his advertising campaign since he said he was not required to do so.
“Nowhere in the Local Government Act does it say an individual has to report advertisements in the newspaper,” he said.
The provincial elections act specifies rules for campaign financing and disclosure by elector organizations.
According to Section 83 of the Local Government Act, a campaign organizer is an individual or organization organizing and directing a series of coordinated activities to promote or a candidate, which supplement the election campaign of one or more of the candidates.
“An individual is not a campaign organizer unless they accept campaign contributions from others to finance these political activities,” the act states.
Ziebarth said he paid for the ads himself and did not receive money to help with the costs.
He added that he did not fall under the elector organization definition either.
That definition, in Section 79 of the Local Government Act, states that an elector organization has a membership that includes at least 50 eligible electors for at least 60 days before the endorsement.
Ziebarth said that section of the act does not apply to his activities since he was a lone individual running advertisements.
“Citizens for Smart Governance didn’t illegally fund the municipal elections; Citizens for Smart Governance didn’t solicit or accept funds from third-parties to advance a specific agenda or candidate and Citizens for Smart Governance wasn’t required to register by the Local Government Act,” he said.
Municipal clerk Gillian Matthews, who was also the elections officer for Summerland, said provincial legislation does not cover Ziebarth’s advertising campaign.
She said Ziebarth does not fall under the category of an organization or under the category of an individual running a campaign and collecting donations.
Ziebarth said his endorsement of Perrino came from his time on the board of the hospital foundation in Penticton, where Perrino serves as the director.
In addition to the advertisements, he ran, Ziebarth also gave a personal donation to Perrino’s campaign.
The four ads Ziebarth ran in the Summerland Review were not the only third-party ads to run during the 2008 election campaign.
Penny Lane Bargain Outlet ran one advertisement endorsing Janice Perrino for mayor and Bruce Hallquist for councillor.
In the Nov. 6 Summerland Review, an advertisement endorsing seven candidates was run. This advertisement had the names of 90 Summerlanders. A similar ad in the Nov. 13 Summerland Review, also endorsing the same seven candidates, bore the names of 210 Summerland residents. All seven of the candidates listed in those ads were elected.
In addition to the candidate-specific ads, a series of ads, without attribution, ran in October and November, urging voters to elect a council which was not against growth.
“Some concerned residents and business owners of Summerland urge you to please get involved and support candidates who are not against some growth in this town, one ad read.
online edition of the Summerland Review http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/summerlandreview/news/78187957.html
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