Fair Elections Toronto, a group whose self-described goal is to restore the integrity of Toronto's elections, has filed campaign audit requests of four City Councillors and four unsuccessful council candidates from the 2010 municipal election. Most notable among the individuals the group alleges exceeded spending limits is Doug Ford (Ward 2, Etobicoke North), the mayor's brother and ally.

Also named are Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti (Ward 7, York West), Councillor Michael Thompson (Ward 37, Scarborough Centre), Councillor James Pasternak (Ward 10) and former candidates for council Peter Li Preti (Ward 8, York West), Jon Burnside (Ward 26, Don Valley West), Abdi Hashised (Ward 11, York South-Weston), and Peter Youngren (Ward 34, Don Valley East).

Group spokesperson and Toronto Public Library Board vice-chair Adam Chaleff-Freudenthaler, who along with Max Reed has also filed an audit of the Mayor's campaign expenses, told the Globe that despite the fact that the audit requests target right-leaning members of council, the move is not "politically motivated."

"Holding politicians accountable to election laws is a responsibility that has unfortunately been downloaded to the citizenry," reads a note on the group's website. "With the limited resources we have, we targeted all of the councillors we believe broke the law to gain a material advantage over their opponents and all candidates who accepted corporate or union donations."

Most of the councillors named in the requests have dismissed the allegations of overspending, but I supect that more formal statements will follow. Although no meeting date has been set, the requests will ultimately be reviewed by the compliance audit committee.

For a look at a list of the specific allegations and documents related to the audit requests, visit the Fair Elections website.

Photo by Tomasz Bugajski