Penny pinchers annoyed at the cost of spending for municipal elections will want to keep an eye on Port Moody, where running for office is still relatively inexpensive, especially for incumbents.

Running for the mayor's seat in PoMo in November cost about 50% less per vote compared to Coquitlam, and one mayoralty hopeful spent the equivalent of just two lattes a day on her month-long bid, although she finished in a distant third among three candidates.

Mayor Mike Clay spent $9,750 on his campaign to replace outgoing mayor Joe Trasolini while his main challenger, Robert Simons, spent slightly more, $10,891. Katie Kickbush spent just $188, the least of all the candidates.

The amount spent by both Clay and Simons during the last election was considerably less than the $39,095 Trasolini alone spent to secure his seat in the 2008 election, when he faced one relatively unknown challenger.

Campaign expenditures for councillors were also relatively modest, owing to the relatively small size of the population (32,000 compared to 126,000 for Coquitlam). But a few candidates, predominantly the newcomers, spent considerably more than others.

Zöe Royer, for example, spent $10,142 in her bid for a vacant council seat, or $5.28 per captured vote. She was the biggest spender in the campaign. Another successful newcomer, Rick Glumac spent $7,536 or $3.01 per captured vote.

Diana Dilworth, an incumbent, was one of the top vote getters and one of the most successful fundraisers, collecting $8,624 in contributions and spending $6,072.

While in most cities, most notably Coquitlam, where the cost of running an election is $17,000 or more per candidate, competition is tight for union or developer dollars.

In Port Moody, however, candidates can still win an election without fundraising. Veteran Coun. Bob Elliott, one of the top vote getters, spent $3,707 of his own money on his campaign while Gerry Nuttall collected just $50 towards his $5,408 campaign — and only because the contributor insisted, he said — and Rosemary Small spent $6,971 of her own money on her successful bid for council.

Of those who did seek donations, CUPE and real estate developers were the major contributors.

Mayor Clay didn't get any CUPE funding but did receive about $7,000 in funding from local developers, including $2,000 from RPMG Holdings (Onni) and $2,000 from Appia Development. Simons' campaign, meanwhile, was mostly self-financed.

Dilworth also received contributions from real estate developers, including Onni and Appia, Glumac collected about $3,700 from various labour organizations, including CUPE 825 and Royer received $3,000 from CUPE as well as $1,500 from RPMG (Onni).

One candidate who was unsuccessful but received considerable union support was Barbara Junker, who received nearly $5,000 from labour organizations.

*Mike Clay

Raised: $10,344 Spent: $9,750 Votes: 3,112 $3.13 per vote .30 per capita

(32,000 pop)

• Diana Dilworth

Raised: $8,624 Spent: $6,072 Votes: 2,954 $2.05 per vote .19 per capita

• Bob Elliott

Raised: 0 Spent: $3,707 Votes: 2,519 $1.47 per vote .11 per capita

• Rick Glumac

Raised: $7,627 Spent: $7,536 Votes: 2,502 $3.01 per vote .23 per capita

*Gerry Nuttall

Raised: $50   Spent: $5,408 Votes: 2,482 $2.18 per vote .17 per capita

• Zoe Royer

Raised: $10,142 Spent: 10,142 Votes: 1,919 $5.28 per vote .32 per capita

• Rosemary Small

Raised: 0 Spent: $6,971 Votes: 1,689 $4.12 per vote .22 per capita