He may have blasted all but one election rival out of the water when it came to spending, but when it came to attracting votes, he fell miserably short.
Gary Law — a Burnaby Mountie who ran in Richmond Centre as an independent after being lined up as the BC Liberal candidate — spent an incredible $100,888 in his bid to be elected, second only to eventual winner Teresa Wat, of the BC Liberals, who spent more than $135,000.
However, Law’s big spending gained little traction with the Richmond Centre voters back in May’s B.C. election, attracting a mere 1,604 votes and trailing in a distant fourth.
An equally surprising detail, revealed from last week’s public disclosure of all candidates’ election finances, was that Law took out a $74,000 loan to fund his ill-fated campaign.
The entire loan, according to the report, remains outstanding.
Law did not return News calls by press time.
The Mountie’s cash splash is understood to be the most spent on a campaign by an independent provincial candidate seeking election in Richmond.
He spent more than $31,000 on media advertising before the campaign and during. And he spent another $27,000 on newsletters and other promotional material.
Looking across all three Richmond ridings, however, it appears money can, sometimes, make a difference.
The three BC Liberal candidates spent a fraction under $400,000 between them, compared to the NDP’s $77,800 and the Green’s paltry $3,948.
Candidates are required by Elections B.C. to declare all finances coming in and going out during a campaign.
Vancouver-based Wat won her Richmond Centre handily with almost 50 per cent of the vote, followed by the NDP’s Frank Huang, who spent a little more than $43,000.
In the same riding, the Green’s Michael Wolfe spent absolutely nothing, yet managed to finish third.
The BC Liberal’s Steveston incumbent John Yap — who surprised many by romping to victory despite being embroiled in the “ethnic-gate” scandal — spent the most out of all three Richmond ridings, $155,000.
In the East, Linda Reid, not surprisingly, spent the most at $108,918, compared to nearest rival, the NDP’s Gian Sihota at $15,829.
