Only three candidates endorsed for Kelowna city council by consortium of ‘community-minded’ groups

KELOWNA – A group calling itself the Future of Kelowna Consortium is endorsing Mayor Colin Basran and council candidates Gord Lovegrove and Loyal Wooldridge in the Oct. 20 municipal election.

The consortium is made up of representatives from eight "community-minded organizations" and sent questionnaires to all candidates covering a wide variety of issues including planning and future growth, affordable housing, transportation, and fiscal responsibility, according to a media release.

“In our evaluation, we agreed on the issues of concern, but struggled to find nine strong candidates that could tick all of the boxes,” consortium organizer Robert Stupka said in the release.

No incumbents were endorsed suggesting, given historical trends, there will only be one or two new faces on council after the election.

“Mayor Basran ticked the most boxes and his leadership is critical,” Stupka said. “We endorsed two potential new council members Gord Lovegrove and Loyal Wooldridge. They are highly motivated and have relevant competencies.

“In Gord, we have a wealth of knowledge of how to deal with congestion and build cities for this century without compromising what we love about Kelowna.

“In Loyal, we have a business owner who has a significant grasp of local issues, is from a generation that needs more representation on council and has presented a holistic platform.”

The release noted that councillors need to be well versed on a number of issues.

“Some who were perceived strong in one area had fatal flaws in others,” Stupka said, but did not give specifics.

The consortium is supportive of many of the initiatives launched by the previous city council, but objected to things like changing the density projections for future growth without further public input, weakened climate action, actions that encourage peak car use and congestion, lack of revenue models for amenities in areas impacted by growth, and the deferral of key initiatives in the weeks approaching the election.

Details are posted on the Future of Kelowna Consortium Facebook page.

The consortium is comprised of the K.L.O. Residents Association, Kelowna South-Central Association of Neighbourhoods, PLAN Kelowna, Kelowna Area Cycling Coalition, Summerhill Pyramid Winery, Kelowna People’s Alliance and Global Empowerment Coalition of the Central Okanagan, Kelowna Renter's Union.

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