City councillor Hodge could be out of hospital this weekend

KELOWNA – City councillor Charlie Hodge is on the mend and could be released from hospital soon, says his wife Teresa Hodge, although it’s not clear when he will return to work.

"Charlie is slowly feeling better and we hope he can come home very soon,” she says. "Doctor will decide when he is ready and that could be later today or over the weekend. It’s a wait and see.”

Hodge was hospitalized Wednesday with pneumonia. The two-term councillor confirmed his condition on his Facebook page, saying the infection was confined to his lower left lung and that a CT scan had shown there were no blood clots. Hodge is also known to suffer from emphysema.

Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran says he visited Hodge in hospital Thursday and found him in good spirits. “He’s just looking forward to getting out of the hospital, getting back to full health and getting back to work,” the Mayor says.

Hodge was first elected to council in 2008 only to lose his re-election bid. He won a second term in November 2014. He was born and raised in Kelowna and worked as a journalist before entering municipal politics.

To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infotelnews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.