A Wildrose MLA sought campaign donations from the president of Olds College in early January.
Rob Anderson, the MLA for Airdrie-Chestermere, invited college president Tom Thompson to attend a fundraising dinner with party leader Danielle Smith and other Wildrose Party candidates in Airdrie in February.
“The fundraiser dinner will ensure that we are able to raise the funds necessary to run a successful upcoming campaign in our riding,” reads the letter dated Jan. 18, 2012.
The form letter gave options to buy tickets for the event and to make a donation to the Wildrose Airdrie-Chestermere Constituency Association.
In Alberta, it is against the law for municipalities, colleges, universities and technical institutions to make any political donations to any political party or expense these related costs for reimbursement.
Olds College has followed this in their own administrative policy in place since 2005.
In a memo from the college’s vice-president of advancement, Jordan Cleland said: “I don’t think we are obliged to reply as the letter is an unsolicited fundraising overture.”