Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) Area C director candidate Wendy Bales was one of six individuals named in Elections B.C.’s most recent round of penalties.
Bales was fined $150 for sponsoring election advertising without an authorization statement.
According to a letter to Bales from director of investigations Adam Barnes., on Sept. 13, Elections B.C. received a complaint concerning Bales’ lawn signs, noting the signs lacked a complete authorization statement. While the signs were correct in that they said “Authorized by Financial Agent Wendy Bales,” the signs lacked her contact information.
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The compliance team contacted Bales about the issue and asked her to correct the issue. When the Elections B.C. investigator followed up, Bales had corrected the error. Bales told Elections B.C. she reused the signs from the 2018 general local election.
Section 44 (1) of the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act (LECFA) requires candidates who sponsor election advertising to ensure they indicate the financial agent’s name, that they are authorized plus a phone number, email address or mailing address for the financial agent.
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Bales could have faced fines up to $5,000. However, the fine remained at $150 because it was ruled an honest mistake, was rectified immediately and Bales had not been the subject of fines due to LECFA violations in the past six elections in which she participated.
During the 2022 election, Bales lost her seat on the FVRD board to Mel Waardenburg, who earned 177 votes over her 48 votes.
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