Bob Mackin
Real estate developers and lobbyists were prominent donors to David Eby’s campaign for NDP leadership, according to the premier’s finance report to Elections BC.
Eby succeeded John Horgan by default after the party board disqualified challenger Anjali Appadurai Oct. 19 for fraudulent memberships and collusion with environmental charities.
David Eby and John Horgan (BC Gov/Flickr)
The Jan. 24 disclosure shows that Eby spent $338,173.65 of the $383,570.27 in donations raised. Elections BC capped individual donations in 2022 at $1,309.09.
The list includes a total $6,359.09 from Giulio, Marcello, Morris, Paolo and Rossano De Cotiis, members of the family behind Onni and Amacon. Amacon’s director of business development, Stepan Vdovine, donated $1,300.
Other real estate players included Polygon Homes chair Michael Audain and Nch’Kay Development Corp. director Mike Magee ($1309.09 each), Jameson’s Anthony Pappajohn and Thind Properties’ CEO Daljit Thind and COO Paul Thind ($1,000 each), Raymond Louie of Coromandel Properties Ltd. and Daisen Gee-Wing of Canadian Metropolitan Properties ($500 each).
Acciona Infrastructure Canada Inc. lobbyist Katie Shaw of Earnscliffe and Rogers Communications lobbyist Angela Valentini gave $1,309.09 each.
FortisBC and GCT Global Container Terminals lobbyist Gurpreet Vinning of Prospectus Associates and Jeff Guignard of B.C.’s Alliance of Beverage Licensees donated $1,300 and $1,000, respectively.
Other lobbyists of note were Canadian Home Builders’ Association of B.C. representative David Bieber of Counsel Public Affairs ($600) and Craig Keating of Strategies 360, the former NDP president who represents the Small Housing BC Society ($500).
Former Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart and Joel Solomon, the Hollyhock chair emeritus and member of the University of B.C. board, both gave Eby’s campaign the $1,309.09 maximum.
Phantom Creek Estates winery owner Jiping Bai ($1,300), Omni TV producer and Rise Media commentator Guo Ding ($1,250), labour mediator Vince Ready ($800), and the NDP-appointed BC Ferry Authority chair Lecia Stewart ($500) were also listed.
Eby’s campaign spent almost half the donations on professional services ($90,688.82) and salaries and benefits ($76,200.00) combined.
Of the $36,574.35 spent on advertising, $23,123.54 went to in-person or mobile phone canvassing.
Eby racked-up $13,807.26 in personal expenses, including $7,950.76 for air travel, $2,743.73 in vehicle expenses and $1,902.67 for accommodation.
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