The Cost of Running for Mayor

If the 2022 Hamilton mayoral election proved anything, it is that winning City Hall has become an expensive business.

The Hamiltonian has reviewed the official financial statements filed with the City of Hamilton following the last municipal election, and the numbers reveal a campaign landscape divided into two very different worlds. At one end were Andrea Horwath and Keanin Loomis, whose campaigns each spent more than $200,000. At the other were candidates who spent only a few thousand dollars—or, in one case, nothing at all.

Andrea Horwath's final financial statement shows her campaign raised and spent $205,521.20. Her largest expenses included approximately $82,584 for salaries, benefits and professional services, $45,042 on advertising, $19,999 on election signs, almost $15,123 in office expenses and nearly $13,862 on phone and internet communications. Additional expenses included meetings, accounting, travel reimbursements, election night events and banking costs. By the time her campaign closed its books, every dollar raised had been spent.

Keanin Loomis' campaign finished at an even higher level. His final supplementary filing shows he raised $210,115.31 and spent $209,505.33 after extending his campaign to eliminate an initial post-election deficit. His campaign invested heavily in voter outreach, spending more than $79,000 on advertising, $43,500 on election signs, $25,600 on campaign software and voter databases, $14,571 on polling and data services, together with thousands more on brochures, events, rent, insurance and professional services. Unlike Horwath's campaign, which devoted its single largest expense to staffing and professional support, Loomis directed much more of his budget toward advertising, voter identification technology and campaign infrastructure.

Together, the two leading candidates spent more than $415,000 in pursuit of Hamilton's highest elected office. The contrast with the remainder of the field could hardly have been greater.

Paul Fromm reported campaign expenses of approximately $2,733, while Solomon Ikhuiwu spent just over $5,398. Ejaz Butt reported no campaign expenses. Several other candidates filed no financial statements at all. According to information provided by the City of Hamilton, Bob Bratina, Jim Davis and Michael Pattison did not submit financial statements in accordance with section 88.25(1) of the Municipal Elections Act.

The spending patterns are just as revealing as the totals. Horwath's campaign placed its greatest financial emphasis on people, communications and campaign operations. Loomis' campaign invested much more aggressively in advertising, campaign technology, polling and voter databases. Different strategies, but remarkably similar overall budgets.

What becomes apparent after reading all of the financial statements is that modern municipal campaigns have evolved well beyond volunteers, lawn signs and neighbourhood meetings. Some candidates now rely on sophisticated voter databases, polling, digital advertising, campaign software, professional communications, fundraising operations and organized campaign teams. Running for mayor increasingly resembles managing a small business.

None of this means that money guarantees victory. If it did, every well-funded campaign would win. Elections are still decided by voters, not accountants. However, the financial statements make one thing abundantly clear: money buys the opportunity to compete. It buys visibility. It buys organization. It buys the ability to communicate repeatedly with hundreds of thousands of voters spread across one of Ontario's largest cities.

Perhaps the most significant conclusion is not that Andrea Horwath and Keanin Loomis each spent roughly $200,000. It is that no other campaign came remotely close. The financial gap between the two front-runners and the remainder of the field was enormous, suggesting that a bid for the mayor's office now requires resources that would have seemed unimaginable only a generation ago.

Whether that is simply the cost of campaigning in a city the size of Hamilton—or whether it represents a growing barrier to ordinary citizens seeking public office—is a question every voter should consider before the next election begins.

Money may buy exposure, but ideas and ability are just as important.