Kelowna municipal candidate fined for sign violation

Photo: Contributed

Daniel Joseph

A candidate in last year's Kelowna civic election has come in contravention on the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act.

Daniel Joseph, who finished 27th out of 32 candidates seeking election, has been slapped with a $100 fine by Elections BC.

According to the enforcement notice an investigation was launched after a complaint was filed alleging lawn signs promoting Joseph's candidacy did not include a complete authorization statement as required by the act.

As a result of the complaint, an investigation was launched by Elections BC

"The Elections BC investigator reached out to you and requested copies of the invoices for the ads, copies of the original ads and images of the ads that had been revised and brought into compliance," the enforcement notice stated.

"Your response indicated that you purchased 500 lawn signs at a cost of $4,201.37. You indicated that you had amended the signs using a sticker that contained an appropriate authorization statement."

Fines of up to $5,000 can be levied for such infractions, however, the notice indicated the error was inadvertent and corrected once it was brought to Joseph's attention.

More than a dozen fines have been handed out to candidates and third party sponsors as a result of infractions during the campaign leading up to the Oct. 15 elections.

Jospeh is the first Okanagan candidate to be issued a fine.

Financial statements for candidates participating in the election are expected to be posted on the Elections BC website in the coming days.