Sudbury city council candidates drop average of $5K during 2014 campaign

It's no longer just the mayoral candidates who put up big dollars in Sudbury elections.

In 2014, the record number of 60 candidates seeking a seat on city council lead to more lawn signs, more billboard ads, more brochures and bigger bills at the end of the campaign.

Fern Cormier was the top spender among the 60 Sudbury city council candidates, spending $12,605 on his successful campaign in Ward 10, $4,175 of which was donated, with the rest coming from his own pocket.

Ward 10 saw two other candidates come near the top of the spending list, with Hannu Piironen's bid for the south end council seat running $9,999 and John Antonioni's campaign costing $9,654.

The hot race in Ward 9 also saw some big spenders, with the eventual winner Deb McIntosh's campaign bill coming to $11,893. She was also one of the top fundraisers, getting almost all of it donated.

Similarly, one of her opponents Paul Stopciati spent $11,430, almost all of it donated by supporters.

The average campaign cost in Ward 9 was $9,257, compared with the city-wide average of $4,816.

Tay Butt in Ward 12 was one of the top spenders to not get a seat on council, finishing second to incumbent Joscelyne Landry-Altmann, despite spending $10,909 to her $4,380.

Of the elected councillors, Ward 4 councillor Evelyn Dutrisac spent the least at $1,684.

Twelve council candidates who put their name on the ballot did not file their campaign expenses with the city and are prohibited from running in the next election. They are Mathieu Labonte, Paul Soucie, Chris Spry, Tom Trainor, Jacques Barbeau, Dan Xilon, Jesse Gaudet, Francois Couture, Paul Lefebvre, Darren Champaigne, Will Thomson and Vincent Lacroix.

Read all the election expense reports here.