Here's what Newmarket candidates spent on their election campaigns

Newmarket's council candidates largely self-financed their campaigns, but thousands of dollars in political donations also changed hands in the 2022 election campaign.

Municipal candidates filed to meet a March 31 deadline to report on their campaign finances, with the most costly campaign ringing in at $27,312 in expenses for deputy mayor and regional councillor incumbent Tom Vegh — who overcame a deficit with multiple donations received after the campaign ended.

As opposed to his 2018 campaign that garnered controversy for being half-funded by developers, Vegh appears to have stuck to a campaign promise not to accept donations from companies "doing business" in Newmarket.

Here is a rundown of candidates' campaign filings for each contested council ward. Mayor John Taylor, Ward 3 Councillor Jane Twinney and Ward 5 Councillor Bob Kwapis were all acclaimed and had no donations or expenses listed.

Deputy Mayor

Tom Vegh

$30,355 campaign income, $27,312 in expenses
$12,310 candidate and spouse contribution

Donations received:

$500 from Magdi Nicholas
$500 from Peter Cos
$1,000 from Richard Reininger
$1,000 from Peter Mikos
$1,000 from Allison Mikos
$1,200 from Frederick Jandrasits
$1,200 from Alexander Vegh
$1,200 from Bianca Vegh
$1,200 from Tal Braktov
$1,200 from Blair McArthur
$1,200 from Vincenza Polizzi
$1,200 from Antonia Bambina
$1,000 from Dawn McDermott

Gordon Prentice

$8,947 campaign cost, $7,292 expenses
$3,464 candidate and spouse contributions

Donations received:

$100 from Margaret Koopmans
$100 from Dan Deeson
$100 from Chris Ballard
$1,100 from Paul Popper
$500 from Heather Burling
$400 from Margaret Davis
$100 from Fred Stoneman
$100 from Walter Bauer
$100 from Peter Walling
$100 from Christopher Morris
$100 from Frances Bazos
$100 from Teresa Porter
$100 from Patrick Monks
$100 from William Wolske
$100 from Ted Bomers
$100 from Les Kerr
$100 from Robert Hansen
$100 from Gerald Fox
$100 from John Fitzpatrick
$100 from Catherine Wellesley
$100 from Robert Wardlaw
$100 from Dan Deeson
$200 from Bill Chadwick
$400 in video services from Ron Eibel
$150 in ad design from Sonya Regent

Prentice is calling out Vegh for accepting a $1,200 donation from Blair McArthur, who he says is affiliated with White Owl Group, an investment firm that has asked the province to allow development in the Oak Ridges Moraine in Richmond Hill. However, McArthur is not currently listed on the company website.

NewmarketToday did not receive a response to a request for comment from the firm before publication deadline.

"I am calling on Vegh to return the $1,200 to Blair McArthur without delay or prevarication," Prentice said.

Vegh told NewmarketToday that he was unaware of the alleged connection McArthur has before filing his documents. He said he can confirm that White Owl is not doing any business with the Town of Newmarket.

Even without the donation, Vegh's campaign budget would still be balanced, with more than $3,000 in surplus.

Ward 1

Mark Holmes

$2,240 campaign income, $2,273 in expenses
$590 candidate and spouse contributions

Donations:

$200 from Matthew Cappuccitti
$300 from Andrew Slonetsky
$200 from Aida Memisevic
$500 from Dave Kempton

Grace Simon

$1,000 campaign income, $4,411 in expenses
$1,000 candidate and spouse contributions
No donations listed

Ward 2

Victor Woodhouse

$5,285 campaign income, $5,285 in expenses
$5,035 contributions from the candidate and spouse
No donations listed, with the remaining $250 in income coming from a sign deposit refund

Hunter Murchison-Doggart

$1,000 campaign income, $972 in expenses
$1,000 contributions from the candidate and spouse
No donations listed

Brian Andrews

$7,200 in campaign income, $6,302 in expenses
$3,600 contributions from the candidate and spouse

Donations:

$500 from Richard Robinson
$750 from Terry Macey
$750 from Erin Lindsal
$750 from Michael Rice, with area developer Rice Group
$100 from Angela Evans
$750 from Edward Goldstein

Ward 4

Grant Waddell

$3,600 in campaign income, $3,304 in expenses
$3,600 in contributions from the candidate and spouse
No donations listed

Trevor Morrison

$5,920 in campaign income, $5,920 in expenses
$5,670 in contributions from candidate and spouse, with $250 in income coming from the sign deposit refund
No donations listed

Chris Dupee

$4,500 campaign income, $4,499 in expenses
No contributions from candidate and spouse

Donations listed:

$1,200 from Shane Orowitz
$1,000 from Jay Madha
$1,000 from Jatin Madha
$1,000 from Sanjay Madha
$300 from Andrew O'Brien

Ward 6

Lukas Fuina

$2,567 campaign income, $1,986 in expenses
No contributions from the candidate and spouse

Donations listed:

$680 from Sara Pecchia
$200 from Rafael Vasquez
$150 from Takdeer Brar
$200 from Lora Hamilton

Kelly Broome

$8,468 campaign income, $8,455 in expenses
$4,468 contributions from the candidate and spouse

Donations listed:

$1,000 from Michael Croxon
$1,200 from Michael Waddington
$250 from Juliane Goyette
$1,200 from Paul Blight
$1,000 from Linda Krige

Ward 7

Christina Bisanz

$5,448 in campaign income, $5,415 in expenses
$4,722 in contributions from the candidate and spouse

Donations listed:

$500 from Wasim Jarrah

Filings from Ward 7 candidate Nadia Hansen were not available before publication time. Penalties for not filing can include not being able to run for office until after the next election.