A petition has been launched in Calgary to push the Alberta government to change election financing laws for school trustees.
Kids Come First and the Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils (CAPSC) want the province to end special interest group financing before the municipal election this fall.
Lisa Davis, founder of Kids Come First, spoke to News Talk 770’s Danielle Smith on Monday, pointing to the 2015 trustee by-election that saw Julie Hrdlicka become public school trustee in Wards 11 and 13, with almost $19,000 in union support. That was 70 per cent of her total donations.
“When you look at education, there is a special trust that exists between parents, the public and the school board. And it’s very important that there be not even the perception of third-party influence on decisions involving kids,” Davis said.
Davis pointed out this is not just an issue with union donations.
“Let’s say it was a textbook supplier that was donating to campaigns and had a big contract with the school board. You would wonder if they were actually the best supplier, or whether they were there because of those donations,” Davis explained.
“Those are the things that we just absolutely must avoid in order to maintain that public trust in education.”
Davis believes this is an easy fix and she hopes the province will look at passing legislation this spring.
The petition asks that the government:
- Prohibit donations by corporations, political action committees, trade unions or employee organizations to candidates in municipal trustee elections.
- Prohibit third party advertising in municipal trustee elections.