Members of municipal council are required to refrain from voting on motions where they have a conflict-of-interest. However, commercial interests, proprietary interests and professional relationships can influence any politician’s general approach to government in ways they may not be conscious about. The remedy for the potential encroachment of private interest into public policy is transparency and an informed public to hold them to account.
I reached out to mayoral and councilor candidates competing for MODL positions in October to look at who is donating to their election campaigns, who they have worked for, and what for-profit properties or businesses they own.
The majority of councilor candidates stated that they are not accepting any financial or in-kind corporate or out-of-municipality donations to operate their election campaigns.
Several candidates, however, did not respond to questions about campaign donations or proprietary and commercial interests by the time of publication. This includes incumbent mayor Carolyn Bolivar-Getson, incumbent District 5 candidate Cathy Moore, and District 6 candidates Blair Clark and Byron Veinotte.
Mayoral candidate Elspeth McLean-Wile and District 8 Councillor Kacy DeLong declined to respond specifically to the question stating they will be making their campaign donations public through the required disclosure process after the election.
Most councilor candidates disclosed that they owned a home or farmstead, and many also owned a woodlot or cottage in the municipality. But several candidates did hold some proprietary or commercial interests that they would bring with them into a council role.
District 1 candidate Tyler Veinotte stated that he owns seven rental units, and two residential investment properties. His campaign phone number is the same as the company 24/7 Electrical Services LTD. He stated that he has never bid or accepted any contacts from MODL.
District 3 candidate Andrew Himmelman is the owner of two enterprises: Ntyce Motor Sports and Blackjack Powerline & Tree Service. He said that he has never bid or accepted any contracts with MODL. He also stated that he owns one rental unit and owns commercial properties in the “Bridgewater area”.
District 5 candidate Andy Veinotte owns a well-drilling company called L.E. Veinotte & Sons Ltd. He disclosed that his company has bid for and accepted contracts with MODL in the past but has not taken on any recently. He did, however, speak at an April 2, 2024 MODL special council meeting offering to drill a number of wells for the municipality.
District 7 candidate Edgar Burns is a partner with South Shore Law. He stated that he has never bid or accepted any contracts with MODL.
District 8 candidate Kacy DeLong is married to a member of the DeLong family who owns DeLong Farms.
Phil Williams, also a candidate in District 8, owns a room on top of his garage that he occasionally uses as a short-term rental unit.
District 9 candidate Ben Brooks owns the Riverport Inn B&B.
Disclosing commercial or proprietary interests does imply that a candidate will impose their private interests on municipal government, and there are checks and balances in place to make sure that decisions are made without direct conflicts of interest. Transparency and an informed public, however, are essential to make sure that the private interests of politicians do not influence their general approach to government.
Please see our online election coverage for more information on the candidates running for mayoral and councillor positions in the 2024 MODL election.
Christy Kelly-Bisson, PhD, is a volunteer journalist, social science researcher, and garlic farmer living in rural Lunenburg County
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