Kelowna mayoralty candidate Tom Dyas when he picked up his nomination papers in August.

Image Credit: Submitted/Tom Dyas

Tom Dyas wrapped up Kelowna’s first mayoralty forum with the hint of an attack on Mayor Colin Basran that was strong enough to win him, by far, the most enthusiastic audience response of the evening.

For his part, Basran only generated polite clapping when he made his pitch to be re-elected to his third term during the closing discussion and argument part of the forum at Okanagan College last night, Sept. 28.

“My strength in leadership will be strong,” Dyas said, immediately following Basran’s closing comments. “My words will be true. I will work with other levels of government to take care of the cracks that we are seeing in this community now.”

That may not seem to be a particularly harsh attack but Dyas has campaigned on the need for strong leadership and transparency at City Hall.

READ MORE: Tom Dyas wants to fill the cracks in Kelowna’s boom by becoming its next mayor

Earlier this week, he called for a lobbyist registry and an integrity commissioner to “ensure that city hall has the transparency and accountability that residents expect from their decision-makers.”

READ MORE: Kelowna mayoral candidate promises lobbyist registry, integrity commissioner

Dyas, who finished second to Basran in the 2018 election, is clearly the front-runner in terms of who, if anyone, can unseat Basran.

For his part, Basran wrapped up the evening by encouraging students to stay in Kelowna and use their skills here.

“Kelowna is the size that you don’t get lost in terms of how big it is,” he said. “We are a really great community. We are a large size where we have all the amenities of a big city but we still have that small city feel.”

Based on applause, that did not resonate with the audience.

The third choice in the campaign David Habib took a shot at the mayor as he talked about crime and homelessness, which appealed to the audience.

“The city hasn’t done the job they need to do,” he said “The driver behind the seat today isn’t getting the job done.”

The other two candidates for mayor, Glendon Smedley and Silverado Socrates, clearly were not contenders.

The forum, which filled an Okanagan College theatre and was broadcast live on YouTube, touched on issues ranging from the current transit strike and housing affordability to truth and reconciliation and highrise development.

There were no sparks or attacks during the rather polite and not very exciting policy discussions that dominated the evening and not much was said that could not be gleaned from the main candidates’ websites.

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