UPDATE: Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran makes it official: He’s running again

KELOWNA – With clear blue skies as a backdrop, Colin Basran made official his bid for reelection as Kelowna’s mayor during a rooftop reception at the Okanagan Innovation Centre.

Basran said social issues will be his biggest priority, with homelessness and housing affordability topping the list.

"Implementing the Journey Home will be expensive, it's going to take a lot of political will but at the end of the day, it's the right thing to do," the mayor said during a media scrum.

Fellow councillors Luke Stack and Gail Given endorsed the mayor during the reception.

Basran recounted his record as mayor of Kelowna during a period of strong growth in the economy and record real estate prices. It has also seen a rapid rise in street homelessness and razor-thin rental vacancy rates.

The former councillor and first-term mayor put his weight behind several other big initiatives including a push to bring all of Kelowna’s irrigation districts into the city water utility.

The Journey Home task force has recommended spending $47 million over five years to control homelessness.

The bid to amalgamate the irrigation districts was rebuffed, with only the South East Kelowna Irrigation District joining the city system.

Basran and council have also made a major push to develop purpose-built rental housing, approving city grants for almost 3,000 units in the last four years.

Basran won his last term in 2014 against former mayor Sharon Shepherd after an endorsement by outgoing Mayor Walter Gray.

The next municipal election will be held October 20, 2018.

— This story was updated at 12:34 p.m. Thursday, May 24, 2018 with details from the mayor's press conference.

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