Saanich 2011 Campaign Spending

Here is the list of the 2011 candidates for Saanich council ranked by the money the spent:

1. Vicki Sanders  $14,623.26  4th 12,358 votes
2. Rob Wickson    $13,082.67  9th  7,801
3. Dean Murdock   $11,337.83  5th 11,899
4. Judy Brownoff  $10,925.64  2nd 13,208
5. Leif Wergeland $10,188.92  6th 11,740
6. Paul Gerrard   $10,184.79  7th 10,681
7. Susan Brice    $10,457.28  1st 13,547
8. Nicola Wade     $9,413.03  8th  9,437
9. Vic Derman      $8,016.97  3rd 12,427
10. Jesse McClinton   $807.52 10th  4,935
11. Harald Wolf       $456.15 11th  4,865
12. Ingrid Ip           $5.59 12th  3,999

The spending by the top nine candidates was all in roughly the same range of $11,000 +-$3,000.  No one had any real monetary advantage in the Saanich election.  The vote range of the top nine was also relatively close.

In my opinion, for someone to succeed in Saanich as an non-incumbent you likely need to be spending $25,000 to $30,000 on your election if the incumbents are spending $11,000.

The top vote winner was Susan Brice, but her name is also the best known name of all the people on Saanich council.

The two candidates endorsed by the Victoria Labour Council, Dean Murdock and Vicki Sanders Judy Brownoff, Dean Murdock was also among the highest spending incumbents.   Dean Murdock had the highest increase in vote from 2008 but Judy Brownoff was middle of the pack for vote increase.