The results of the 2022 election are shown below.  6,069 votes were cast for the Mayoralty Race and 5,950 votes for the Deputy Mayor's race. the Suntimes reported that 6,230 people voted in the 2022 municipal election in Owen Sound.

Deputy Mayor - Do we need a separate race?
This suggests that 161 voters chose not to vote for either candidate in the mayor's race and 280 did not vote for either candidate in the Deputy Mayor's race. Given this I question whether we should have a separate race for Deputy Mayor. The downside is that we lost a person who was willing to participate in the leadership of the community who 2,233 people supported. The position of Deputy Mayor could be filled on a rotational basis. If we did this it would give all councillors an opportunity to fill this leadership position and we likely not lose someone willing to participate in the leadership of the city.

What Does it cost to Run?
 Based on the results of the 2022 election it very much looks like it costs at least $2,000 for a successful run for council. However, the results of the 2022 election inform us that spending on a campaign is not as important as you would think. For example, Scott Geig spent $1,728 to win the seat and Brian O'Leary spent $8,708 and only captured 37.5% of the vote. The two big spenders for council were Brock Hamley at $7,085 and Marion Koepke who spent $6,238. They each captured 9.8% and 9.3% of the vote respectively. Yet Jon Farmer spent only $2,022, which was the least spent by those elected, and he captured 11.9% of the vote which was the highest support of all candidates running for council.  Carol Merton was a close second in the least spent at $2,099.

Spending is NOT a deciding Factor
The person who spent the least captured the most votes. Obviously Jon had something else going for him. If you're planning on running and don't have the means to spend the $6 or $7 thousand that Brock and Marion spent, I suggest that you speak to Jon or Carol. I'm sure they will share their  election strategies.  My guess is that both Jon and Carol devoted considerable time door knocking and networking in the community. In fact, my recollection is that Jon and Carol were the only candidates running for a council seat that knocked on my door.

Where Did the Money Come From?
Every candidate running for council must complete a financial disclosure form. You can review these forms at this link: Financial Disclosure Forms. These will tell you where candidates received their financial support. One interesting observation is that some candidates received financial support from outside of Owen Sound.

Results by the Numbers

	Office Sought	Funds Spent	Votes	Percent of Vote	Cost per Vote
Ian Boddy	Mayor	$6,765	3,372	55.6%	$2.01
Richard Thomas	Mayor	$7,841	2,697	44.4%	$2.91
Scott Greig	Deputy Mayor	$1,728	3,717	62.5%	$0.46
Brian O'Leary	Deputy Mayor	$8,708	2,233	37.5%	$3.90
Jon Farmer	Councillor	$2,022	3,942	12.0%	$0.51
Travis Dodd	Councillor	$3,815	3,888	11.9%	$0.98
Carol Merton	Councillor	$2,099	3,534	10.8%	$0.59
Melanie Middlebro	Councillor	$3,443	3,443	10.5%	$1.00
Brock Hamley	Councillor	$7,085	3,201	9.8%	$2.21
Marion Koepke	Councillor	$6,238	3,048	9.3%	$2.05
Suneet Kukreja	Councillor	$2,146	2,916	8.9%	$0.74
Meghan Robertson	Councillor	$1,997	2,723	8.3%	$0.73
Jeffery Caldwell	Councillor	$47	1,744	5.3%	$0.03
Robert Galbraith	Councillor	$884	1,428	4.4%	$0.62
Michelle Tompkins	Councillor	$0	994	3.0%	$0.00
Jasmine Schnarr	Councillor	$0	971	3.0%	$0.00
Alan Douglas	Councillor	$0	946	2.9%	$0.00

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