Candidates are gearing up to run for mayor and city council in Kelowna, some have even had their campaigns up and running for weeks.

Mayor Tom Dyas announced today, July 28, he’s seeking re-election, and councillor Ron Cannan has already been campaigning for the mayor’s job for weeks.

Dyas is coming to the end of his first term as mayor. He ran in 2018 when he was defeated by Colin Basran but he tried again in 2022 and won.

“We have made real progress on public safety, housing, roads, recreation and affordability. But the job is not finished,” Dyas’ campaign site reads.

Cannan has been a political figure in the city for years with nearly a decade as a Conservative MP and 13 years as a city councillor.

“I’m running for mayor to tackle the real challenges Kelowna faces: growth outpacing infrastructure, rising taxes, public safety concerns, and housing affordability,” Cannan’s campaign site reads.

So far, no one else has publicly announced they’re interested in the mayor’s job.

Some current city councillors like Charlie Hodge, Luke Stack and Loyal Wooldridge aren’t planning to run again leaving at least three seats vacant on council. Councillors Gord Lovegrove and Rick Webber have announced they plan to run again, and councillors Maxine DeHart and Mohini Singh haven’t said whether or not they are running.

NowMedia CEO Nikki Csek and NDP candidate Trevor McAleese are going to try to fill some of the empty seats on council.

There’s also a slate of some more controversial candidates which has dubbed itself Brace. The slate includes JC Rathwell who has been flooding social media with AI videos for his campaign.

Nominations close on Sept. 11, according to Elections BC, and the official list of candidates won’t be announced until Sept. 18.

Municipal election day in B.C. is Saturday, Oct. 17.