Organized labour was a big spender in last year’s election campaigns for Langley Board of Education, but unions and labour groups also contributed to council campaigns in Langley Township and Langley City.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) spent $11,250 supporting five trustee candidates, all of whom were elected.
The Fraser Valley District Council and Fraser Valley Labour Congress spent $2,250 on four candidates for trustee (all of whom won), and also gave $500 each to the campaigns of Paul Albrecht for Langley City council and Murray Jones for Langley Township council.
Both are CUPE local presidents. Neither was elected.
Some of the candidates’ disclosure statements say that FVDC, which is based in the United Steelworkers office in Walnut Grove, operated a phone bank on behalf of candidates.
The Langley Teachers Association contributed $4,447 in kind to six trustee candidates in the Township, four of whom were elected.
It donated another $1,854 to two Langley City trustee campaigns, with incumbent Rob McFarlane and newcomer Candy Ashdown both being elected in the City.
The LTA’s contribution was “in kind,” a mailout to B.C.Teachers Federation members and phone calls supporting seven candidates — McFarlane, Ashdown, Wendy Johnson, Megan Dykeman, Cecelia Reekie, Douglas Smuland and John McKendry.
LTA president Gail Chaddock-Costello said in a letter to The Times during the campaign that “We will provide advice to Langley teachers and BCTF members living in Langley.
This is not a public campaign, and we are not funding the trustees we have endorsed — they are all self-funded.”
The Steelworkers union donated $1,300 to three trustee candidates — Johnson, Dykeman and Ashdown.
All were elected.
The other two incumbent trustees, Rod Ross and Alison McVeigh, used only their own funds for their modest campaigns. They received no funding from labour.
The Canadian Labour of Congress contributed more than $148,000 to campaigns across B.C. CUPE spent $127,000.
The CLC supported the campaigns of the seven trustee candidates backed by the LTA, and Albrecht.
It did not back Jones’ campaign. Jones received $4,600 from various arms of CUPE, and another $1,000 from the Steelworkers union.
Albrecht received all his $5,600 in contributions from labour, with $4,600 from CUPE.
Township mayoral candidate Mel Kositsky received $1,000 from local 403 of CUPE, which represents Township workers.
Kositsky and eight candidates for Township council received backing in the form of signs and brochures from local 4550 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, which represents Township full-time firefighters. Endorsed by IAFF were winning candidates Grant Ward, Charlie Fox, Bob Long, Kim Richter, Michelle Sparrow and Steve Ferguson, along with defeated candidates Rebecca Darnell and Dan Sheel.
— with files from Frank Bucholtz