We’re in a municipal election campaign, but last week leaders from every city were invited away from their campaigns to a convention down in Vancouver, including those from Kamloops and the Okanagan.

The convention was for the Union of BC Municipalities, an organization that brings together leaders from every municipality in the province to help them advocate for change beyond their power.

Every year they gather and sponsor resolutions, formal requests to advocate for something from another level of government whether it’s legal changes, funding or some other action. Then leaders from cities around the province vote on whether the UBCM should go ahead and do that advocating.

It might not seem like a huge deal but it’s the biggest way that local leaders can pool their power to push for change up the government food chain.

Here are the numbers:

161: Municipalities are represented at the UBCM convention. That’s all of them.
228: Resolutions were in the UBCM resolution book for municipal leaders to consider.
4: Days. That’s how long the convention was, pulling city leaders away from the campaign trail during an election.
815: Dollars. That’s how much the UBCM convention early-bird registration cost for members. Still cheaper than a ski-pass.
4: That’s how many resolutions Kamloops sponsored this year.
2: That’s how many resolutions Vernon sponsored this year.
1: Resolution was sponsored by Penticton this year.
0: That’s the number of resolutions Kelowna sponsored this year.