Lynn Kelsey is pictured at Tuesday’s Penticton city council meeting where she questioned Coun. Helena Konanz.

Image Credit: City of Penticton

Penticton Coun. Helena Konanz defended her decision to accept the Conservative Party of Canada nomination to be their candidate in the upcoming federal election, despite recently saying she wouldn’t be seeking higher office.

During council’s public meeting Tuesday, Konanz officially asked Mayor Julius Bloomfield and council to support her request to take an unpaid leave of absence for almost four weeks so she can campaign leading into the federal election on Monday, April 28.

The snap election was called by newly-minted Prime Minister Mark Carney, who only recently claimed the Liberal Party of Canada leadership in early March.

A byelection to replace former city councillor Amelia Boultbee is set for this Saturday at the Penticton Trade & Convention Centre.

Boultbee asked for a similar leave of absence last summer when she announced she would be running for the provincial Conservative Party in the Penticton-Summerland riding during last October’s provincial election.

Boultbee was successful, defeating NDP candidate Tina Lee by less than 400 votes in the Oct. 19 provincial election. Boultbee was sworn in as the new MLA for Penticton-Summerland at a special ceremony in Victoria in February.

Following Boultbee’s victory, Bloomfield announced at a city council meeting that he would be asking the remaining members of council if they were committed to fulfilling their four-year mandates as members of city council and whether they had any intentions of running for higher office at the provincial or federal level.

Couns. Konanz, Campbell Watt, Ryan Graham, Isaac Gilbert and James Miller all said they were committed to finishing their terms on city council.

Konanz’s appointment as Conservative candidate was surprising. Four others had officially announced their intentions to represent the Conservative Party in this riding.

They included former MLA Dan Ashton, Chris Pequin, Gary Johal and Similkameen organic farmer Kevin Klippenstein.

After Konanz officially requested the leave of absence until April 28, and received unanimous support from the rest of council, longtime “council watchdog” Lynn Kelsey, who attends almost every council meeting and public hearing, said she was disappointed with Konanz’s decision to run federally, especially after stating only weeks ago that would not happen.

“You’ve asked for a leave of absence in order to run as the Conservative candidate for the federal election,” Kelsey said during question period.

“I want to know about your decision because you gave the mayor assurance that you were going to finish your term and now you’re doing something else. Quite frankly, I’m very disappointed.”

Konanz said she was being honest when asked her intentions by Bloomfield in December.

“I didn’t know at the time that I would be selected as the candidate,” she said.

Kelsey then asked, “OK, were you running as a candidate?”

Konanz repeated the exact same words, “I didn’t know at the time that I would be selected as the candidate.”

Kelsey added, “OK, because there were four people running as candidates.”

Konanz will now be on unpaid leave until federal election day. If she’s successful in becoming the new MP for the riding, it’s expected she will immediately step down from Penticton council. If she’s unsuccessful, she’s expected to complete her four-year term that expires in the fall of 2026 when a new municipal election will take place.

As per B.C.’s Municipal Act, Miller has been on paid leave from council since Aug. 1 as he faces criminal charges for alleged events dating back to the 1980s.

At present, council has only four members and is one short of the five allowed for spots on the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen.

The winner of Saturday’s byelection is expected to be sworn in as a member of council at its next regular meeting later in April.

— This story was originally published by the Penticton Herald

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