For Immediate Release WHITECOURT, AB (October 18, 2011): Wildrose Whitecourt-Ste.

Anne candidate Maryann Chichak has refunded local municipalities who contributed to a recent Wildrose fundraiser and is calling on MLAs and candidates from all parties to immediately do the same.
On Oct. 12, Chichak held a fundraiser for her constituency association. Officials from various local municipalities attended and the ticket fees were charged to their municipalities through credit cards belonging to municipal staff members. After news reports surfaced of illegal contributions from municipalities to a political party and upon learning that such contributions could contravene the Alberta Elections Act Chichak issued an email to municipal officials who attended the event. It reads: Our Constituency Association will not be processing the credit cards received for payment for the October 12, 2011 dinner. If the staff or elected officials in attendance would like to personally pay for the event, they can contact me directly via e-mail or cell phone at (780) 706-1350. If not, our Constituency Association will be covering the cost of their attendance at the event. Chichak is now calling on all MLAs and candidates who have accepted payment for their fundraisers, including flow through payments from municipal staff, to immediately refund to those municipalities all funds received. Everybody has got to come clean. This is just not right, Chichak said. We need to end the solicitation of contributions and ticket sales from groups which are not allowed under law to contribute. Municipalities cant buy tickets to political fundraisers, but you would never know that from the number of invitations that they get from government MLAs and ministers. Although I was unaware and my municipalities were unaware of the legalities surrounding these types of contributions, we have to remedy the situation. I call on all political parties to return public funds to the respective communities.
- 30 For further information or to arrange an interview, media are invited to contact: Maryann Chichak 780-706-1350