Mayoral candidates at odds
MARGARET Strelow and Tim Griffin both said they would pay their own way, but Brad Carter, Dominic Doblo and Lea Taylor yesterday declined to name who was helping bankroll their bids to be mayor of Rockhampton.
All three said they would comply with legislative disclosure regulations, which it's believed means details of any funding contribution above $200 will be publicly released.
But that comes after the election and as of yesterday they weren't divulging details.
A conservative estimate spend for the combined five candidates would be well above $100,000.
Ms Strelow, the former Rockhampton City Council mayor, and Mr Griffin, an engineer, were only too happy to let the community know how they were funding their own campaigns - out of their own pocket and with the help of close family.
Ms Strelow said that way she would "be able to sleep better at night".
She thinks the system is wrong in that voters have to wait until after an election to find out the declarations.
While acknowledging the right of candidates to seek financial backing, Ms Strelow said what if hypothetically a mining company bankrolled a candidate and no-one found out until after the election.
Cr Carter, Mr Doblo and Mr Taylor gave assurances their backers were not multi-national resource companies but small-time local operators who shared their visions for the future.
The current mayor said he and his wife Gail were investing up to $20,000 of their own money on the campaign.
He said he was still seeking contributions.
Mr Doblo said he also was the biggest financial backer, by some way, in his bid.
He said those backing him were mainly small business operators who knew the Doblo family.
Mr Taylor said he was still recruiting backers to complete his campaign.
