Thread by @laurby

NEWS: Developers donated at least $58,499 to Edmonton’s incoming city councillors ahead of the election. Three councillors were also part of an infill development lobbyist group.

I analyzed all the public donor lists & this is what I found. #yeg #yegcc edmontonjournal.com/news/local-new…

Development executives, donating as individuals, gave the most to:

- Tim Cartmell ($22,450)
- Andrew Knack ($14,400)
- Ashley Salvador ($14,039)
- Anne Stevenson ($6,610)

Sarah Hamilton, Aaron Paquette, Jennifer Rice & Karen Principe haven’t shared their lists. #yeg #yegcc

Experts I spoke to say developers have a vested interest in the outcome of Edmonton’s elections.

“You do not contribute to every mayoral candidate at the maximum if you don’t expect to be considered in discussions” - Judith Garber, U of A

#yeg #yegcc

I looked for other types of contributions too — I found union & tech industry donors.

Michael Janz had the most from union folks: $1,250 to $5,241. Also multiple donations from NDP current/former members.

Keren Tang had at least $11,003 from tech leaders #yeg #yegcc

Three councillors are listed on the Infill Development in Edmonton Association (IDEA) website as members: Ashley Salvador, Anne Stevenson & Karen Principe.

All say they’re no longer active.

IDEA has lobbied the city on bylaw changes & was active in the election. #yeg #yegcc

Finally, Lori Waughtal made this awesome graphic including all the big names I found for Saturday’s Insight section (and located at the bottom of the online story).

There’s a lot more. Read the story here: edmontonjournal.com/news/local-new…

#yeg #yegcc #edmonton #yegvote

Oh and one more thing. I made a spreadsheet with all of my findings if you are a data nerd and want to check this searchable list of all the #yeg councillors’ donor lists out after you’re done reading: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

Edmonton doesn’t have a lobbyist registry & councillors don’t have to tell the public about conflicts of interest. That’s done internally.

Don Iveson had a lobbyist registry he published voluntarily. Councillors mulled over doing their own but voted it down in 2019
#yeg #yegcc