It can be harder to stay informed on local elections compared to federal and provincial ones. There are a lot of candidates and no parties to give you a general sense of what they stand for, coupled with less media coverage.

So, here are a few things to know heading into the municipal election in Penticton.

Voters are going to be picking one mayor, six city councillors and four school trustees next month.

Who’s running for mayor?

The nomination deadline was Friday, Sept. 11, and up until Thursday it looked like Mayor Julius Bloomfield was going to run unopposed. But candidates came out of the woodwork and now there are a total of six contenders for Penticton mayor.

Bloomfield, former MLA Dan Ashton, Corey Hounslow, Jordan Iannone, Beverley Kohler and Ashley Murrin are all running for mayor.

Who’s running for council?

There are 19 candidates in the running for a spot city council. Incumbent Isaac Gilbert along with Lainie Greyeyes, Isaiah Collins and Nick Stulberg are running on the Penticton Together slate.

Incumbents Jason Reynen and Shannon Stewart are fighting to keep their council seats, which they have only held since byelections in 2025.

Candidates for city council are set to appear at a forum on Sept. 24 at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre.

Changeups on council this term

This past term has been especially tumultuous for Penticton city council. Councillor James Miller left his seat vacant because he was charged with historic sex crimes and put on mandatory paid leave.

On top of Miller’s absence there were two city councillors who left their seats empty after they won elections for higher office. Reynen and Stewart were voted in to fill those gaps in the 2025 byelections.

Former city councillor Amelia Boultbee left city hall when she was elected as the Penticton-Summerland MLA in 2024 under the BC Conservatives.

Then, former councillor Helena Konanz left when she was elected as the Conservative MP for Similkameen-South Okanagan-West Kootenay.

Election issues

Mayor Bloomfield is campaigning on safety and housing, arguing that the situation in Penticton has gotten better on those two fronts under his leadership.

According to the statistics, Penticton’s crime rate has declined over the past few years.

But the Fairview homeless encampment in Penticton has been a controversial situation while Bloomfield has been mayor.

The Penticton Together slate is campaigning on four main points.

The first is community care which includes “real, ongoing work on decolonization and anti-racism, and building a community that repairs harm and welcomes everyone in.”

The slate also wants to focus on the local economy, climate action and preparedness, as well as transparency in city hall.

Who’s running for the school board?

There are five candidates for school trustee, and with four slots it’s a race to see who’s going to finish last.

Shelley Clarke, James Palanio, Lisa Prokopenko, Danny Reigh and Roger Wiebe are up for school trustee. Clarke and Palanio are incumbents but the rest of the candidates are newcomers.

How Penticton voted in the past

Votes in municipal elections are generally scarce. In the last municipal election in Penticton the voter turnout was just 33 per cent of eligible voters, or 10,115 votes cast.

Bloomfield won the mayor’s job with 3,374 votes, and newly elected councillor Jason Reynen was the runner-up with 3,155 votes.

Amelie Boultbee had the most votes last time around with 5,618 and Isaac Gilbert had the fewest votes out of the winning candidates with 3,309.

General voting day is Saturday, Oct. 17.