Re: Campaign finances disclosed (News, March 21)
I take exception with your statement that I was “highly critical of Mayor Dean Fortin and the City of Victoria” in my campaign for mayor. I was not critical of our fine city. I was critical of how Mayor Fortin and his Dean Team dominated and ran council, particularly pertaining to city’s finances and the habit of doing business behind closed doors.
I ran for mayor because this city is dear to me and I did not like the way it was being managed. I believed and continue to believe the stay-the-course platform of Mayor Fortin is not sustainable. I am pleased that our new councillors are aggressively challenging this status quo.
My campaign contributions totalled $14,323. Of that, I personally invested $5,500 because of my concern for our city. It was particularly challenging running against a $70,000 campaign that was heavily financed, endorsed and organizationally supported by unionized labour and local NDP constituency associations.
Let me be clear, I have no political affiliations. We have a great city. However, council decisions should be driven by the city’s needs, not those of organized labour.
Paul Brown
Victoria