A Coquitlam resident who challenged Mayor Richard Stewart for his seat last fall has been fined by Elections BC.
Adel Gamar was penalized $350 for sponsoring election advertising without an authorized statement, according to the agency that issued a news release today (May 17).
In its letter to the 2022 contender, Elections BC wrote that it received a complaint on Oct. 6 — two weeks before the civic vote — about Facebook advertisements promoting Gamar as a candidate for the mayor of Coquitlam.
It didn't say who launched the complaint, which noted that an ad appeared to be without the required authorization statement and that other ads showed they were "Paid for by Gamar Foundation."
Elections BC said it contacted Gamar during the campaign and he stopped the social media ads on Oct. 10.
Under Section 44 of the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act, candidates must show on their marketing materials the name of their financial agent, authorization by the financial agent and a B.C. contact number, email or mailing address for the financial agent.
Still, Gamar is not the only Tri-Cities candidate from last year's race to have been fined for administrative errors during the campaign.
Last December, Port Moody Mayor Meghan Lahti and candidate Barbara Junker received $200 and $150 bills, respectively, from Elections BC for violating advertising rules.
And, in March, Anmore Coun. Polly Krier was fined $200 for incorrect election advertising.
