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Election Finance Reform back on the agenda

Councillors Michael Walker and Cliff Jenkins are making a notice of motion to revisit the issue of election finance reform for the City of Toronto. The motion asks councillors to reaffirm their support for the reforms, and asks the City Clerk to review whether the new City of Toronto Act gives the city the ability to implement election finance reform. It also recommends for the City Clerk to report to the Executive Committee with a draft by-law for adoption that would prohibit corporate and union donations in Toronto municipal elections.

Read the Toronto Star editorial, "Electoral reform depends on Miller", which calls on Mayor Miller to champion the issue.

Read more about the City of Toronto's past debates on election finance reform here.

VoteToronto 2006 Municipal Election Update!

There are several VoteToronto updates in advance of the November 13, 2006 municipal election.

Updates include:

• New voting records on several of the key votes from the 2003-2006 term on council

• A more thorough analysis of 2003 Campaign Finance Records including breakdowns of corporate donations by business sector (e.g. lobbyists, developers, construction companies) and community council

• Candidate campaign finance declarations, including lists of who's not accepting corporate and union donations, who's revealing their donor list prior to the election or in real time, and who has stated that they are accepting corporate and union donations

• Issues in Depth analyzing different issues facing Toronto, like homelessness, transit, and taxation

• An academic analysis of campaign finance and its role in Toronto elections by VoteToronto contributor and York University political science professor Robert MacDermid (link to PDF on Canadian Political Science Association website)