Television and radio commercials, campaign vehicles and billboards are just some of the big-ticket items Waterloo Region political aspirants have shelled out for during the current municipal campaign.

While there are spending limits legislated for municipal candidates to theoretically maintain a level playing field, local political insiders say the gulf between a big-spender and a penny-pinching candidate remains plenty wide.

“The limit is so high that you’d have to be like a bunch of drunken college students to reach it,” says retired political scientist and former Waterloo city council candidate Peter Woolstencroft.

Candidates for mayoral roles or chair of Waterloo Region have a maximum base spending allowance of $7,500 – plus an extra 85 cents for every eligible voter, which can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in large municipalities.

Council candidates are given a limit $2,500 lower.

Donations from individual people, corporations or unions are capped at $750, except for the candidate themselves and their spouse or partner.

Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr – a veteran of 10 municipal campaigns who isn’t planning an 11th – says fundraising can be a big obstacle for first-time candidates.

“Anyone who does not have a network within the community … I think it would be very difficult (for them) to raise those funds,” he says.

The Elections Act allows for any municipality to provide a tax credit for municipal political donations, although Toronto is the only Ontario municipality to do so.

Woolstencroft says the lack of such credits may be a barrier preventing some people from donating.

“When you ask somebody for $100, they’re giving you $100 – and that’s it,” he says.

All donations greater than $10 must be recorded and submitted to election officials by March 2015 – along with the donations themselves, if they weren’t spent during the campaign period.

To watch full-length interviews with candidates running for mayor of Guelph, chair of Waterloo Region and mayor of each city and township within Waterloo Region, click here.