Municipal election day is Saturday, Oct. 15 throughout the province and many people are scrambling to get the information they need to make up their minds.

That’s particularly tough in Kelowna where 32 people are running for eight city council seats.

Here’s a guide on how to get more information, who is running and where to vote.

KELOWNA

MAYOR

• Basran, Colin (I)
• Dyas, Tom
• David Habib
• Smedley, Glendon Charles
• Socrates, Silverado

COUNCIL (8)

• Ames, Susan
• Becenko, Chris
• Bocskei, Chris
• Braf, Amarit
• Cannan, Ron
• Collecutt, Sacheen (Spirit Alliance)
• Dahms, Greg
• DeHart, Maxine (I)
• Dhial, Indy
• Fiddler, Darren
• Given, Gail (I)
• Grewal, Bal
• Hodge, Charlie (I)
• Joseph, Daniel
• Kay, James
• Kyle, Davis
• Lalli, Amarjit Singh
• Lovegrove, Gord
• Macauley, Tom
• McMurray, Elaine
• Norman, Ben
• Rogers, Brian
• Sawatzky, Zachary
• Schlosser, Dan
• Shepherd, Anthony
• Singh, Mohini (I)
• Stack, Luke (I)
• Truch, Peter
• Webber, Rick
• Wentworth, Noel
• Williams, Chris (Spirit Alliance)
• Wooldridge, Loyal (I)

The City of Kelowna elections webpage not only lists all the candidates but includes contact information and links to their webpages and social media, where available.

The Kelowna Daily Courier sent questions to candidates, some of which can be seen here. Castanet has information and interviews with some of the candidates throughout the Thompson and Okanagan here.

KELOWNA ENDORSEMENTS

Four groups have endorsed individual candidates.

The Citizens for a New Performing Arts Centre lists 16 candidates who support their efforts to build a replacement for Kelowna Community Theatre.

Those include two mayoralty candidates, Colin Basran and Tom Dyas, along with 14 city council candidates.

• Chris Bocskei
• Amarit Brar
• Ron Cannan
• Greg Dahms
• Indy Dhial
• Bal Grewal
• James Kay
• Davis Kyle
• Gord Lovegrove
• Tom Macauley
• Peter Truch
• Noel Wentworth
• Chris Williams
• Loyal Wooldridge

Go to their website here for more information.

Liveable Kelowna surveyed candidates to determine who it believes is the “best able to bring our community together to address the complex challenges facing Kelowna.”

The group is registered with Elections B.C. as a third party sponsor and sent questionnaires to all candidates.

Four of five mayoralty candidates responded as did 22 of 32 council candidates.

No mayoralty candidates were judged suitable and only six council candidates made the cut:

• Davis Kyle
• Bal Grewal
• Gordon Lovegrove
• Elaine McMurray
• Peter Truch
• Loyal Wooldridge

For more information, including who responded and in-depth answers to the wide variety questions, go to the Liveable Kelowna website, here.

The North Okanagan Labour Council invited candidates to apply for endorsation. It did not say how many applied but only four met their standard, which included: past experience, volunteerism, history with unions and involvement with community organizations. It also reviewed their platforms looking for topics of interest to labour.

Those who are endorsed:

• Davis Kyle
• Gordon Lovegrove
• Mohini Singh
• Loyal Wooldridge

For more information go to the Labour Council website, here.

The Kelowna Professional Fire Fighters Association posted a list of candidates on its Facebook page, simply saying: “We support those who support us.”

That list includes Mayor Colin Basran and seven council candidates:

Incumbent Councillors

• Mohini Singh
• Charlie Hodge
• Loyal Wooldridge
• Luke Stack

New Candidates

• Peter Truch
• Amarjit Singh Lalli
• James Kay

The Canadian Homebuilders Association asked candidates more than a dozen questions about housing and affordability. No endorsements were made but the detailed responses from Kelowna, West Kelowna, Lake Country and Vernon can be seen here.

WEST KELOWNA

MAYOR

• Milsom, Gord
• Kwaczynski, Andrew

COUNCIL (6)

• Bastiaanssen, Anthony
• Da Silva, Tasha
• Dawn, Sylvia
• de Jong, Rick (I)
• Ensign, Rusty
• Friesen, Jason (I)
• Groat, Tom
• Johnston, Stephen
• Martin, John
• Millsap, Garrett
• Naaykens, Jasmine Jane
• Winsby, Bryden
• Zanon, Carol (I)

The City of West Kelowna elections page includes contact information and links to Facebook and social media, here.

The Canadian Homebuilders Association asked candidates more than a dozen questions about housing and affordability. No endorsements were made but the detailed responses from Kelowna, West Kelowna, Lake Country and Vernon can be seen here.

Castanet has information and interviews with some of the candidates throughout the Thompson and Okanagan here.

LAKE COUNTRY

The District of Lake Country lists candidates, contact information and links, here.

It is the only jurisdiction in the Central Okanagan that has a ward system. Some positions, including the mayor’s, were filled by acclamation.

The site still posts Barry Rhodes as a candidate for mayor but he dropped out of the race after filing his nomination papers, leaving Blair Ireland to be acclaimed as mayor.

MAYOR

• Blair Ireland – acclaimed

At-Large Candidates (2)

• Michael Lewis
• Bib Patel
• Bill Scarrow

Carr's Landing Ward Candidates

• Cara Reed - acclaimed

Okanagan Centre Ward Candidates (1)

• Tricia Brett
• Riley Hastings

Oyama Ward Candidates

• Todd McKenzie - acclaimed

Winfield Ward Candidates (1)

• Heather Irvine
• Jerremy Kozub

The Lake Country website is here.

A video of the all-candidates forum put on by the Lake Country Chamber of Commerce can be seen here.

The Canadian Homebuilders Association asked candidates more than a dozen questions about housing and affordability. No endorsements were made but the detailed responses from Kelowna, West Kelowna, Lake Country and Vernon can be seen here.

Castanet has information and interviews with some of the candidates throughout the Thompson and Okanagan here.

PEACHLAND

The District of Peachland elections page includes contact information and links to websites and social media, here.

MAYOR

• Fielding, Keith
• Fortin, Cindy
• Van Minsel, Patrick

COUNCILLORS (5)

• Bennet, Kevin
• Brophy, Randey
• Collins, David
• Condon, Terry
• Cunningham, Pam
• Glasman, Alena
• Goodman, Moira
• Ingram, Rick
• Kent, Mike
• Thom, Keith
• Udala Rainer
• Walsh, Nick

CENTRAL OKANAGAN REGIONAL DISTRICT

Both seats have been acclaimed with incumbent Wayne Carson in Central Okanagan West and Kevin Kraft in Central Okanagan East.

SCHOOL BOARD

School District 23 has a ward system with four trustees elected in Kelowna and one each in West Kelowna, Lake Country and Peachland.

The list of candidates and contact information can be found on the appropriate municipal websites.

Candidates are:

Peachland (1)

• Karrie Fehr
• Lisa Guderyan
• Gordon Wiebe

West Kelowna (1)

• Laurie Bowen (ParentsVoiceBC)
• Chantelle Desrosier

Kelowna (4)

• Chris Becenko
• Wayne Broughton
• Tovey Demman (ParentsVoiceBC)
• Teresa Docksteader (ParentsVoiceBC)
• Chris Fieber (ParentsVoiceBC)
• Julia Fraser 
• Val Johnson
• Erika Shephard
• Lee-Ann Tiede

Lake Country

• Amy Geistlinger - acclaimed

A video of the candidate forum where 10 of the 14 running for seats can be seen on the Central Okanagan Parents Advisory Council webpage, here.

WHO CAN VOTE

• You must be a Canadian citizen;
• 18 years of age or older as of October 15, 2022;
• a resident of B.C. for at least 6 months before the day you register to vote;
• a resident of the municipality (no minimum amount of time) or a qualified non-resident property elector (must have owned the property for at least 30 days before the day you register to vote); and not disqualified from voting.

You are disqualified from voting if you have been convicted of an indictable offence and are currently in custody or if you have been found guilty of an election offence.

WHAT TO BRING

Eligible voters must produce two pieces of identification to prove both residency and identity. At least one piece of identification must have a signature on it. Your identification does not need to include a photo. Acceptable forms of identification include:

• B.C. Driver's Licence*
• ICBC Vehicle Insurance
• B.C. Identification Card
• B.C. Services Card*
• Citizenship Card
• Property tax notice
• Social Insurance Number card
• Credit card
• Utility bill for municipal residence (electricity, natural gas, water, phone or cable service)

*NOTE: A combination B.C. Driver's Licence and Services Card counts as only one piece of identification

WHERE TO VOTE

All polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

KELOWNA

ADVANCE POLLS – Oct. 15

• Black Box Theatre – 1375 Water St.
• Dr. Knox Middle School – 121 Drysdale Blvd.
• Hollywood Road Education Centre – 1040 Hollywood Rd. S.
• Okanagan College – 1000 KLO Rd. (Open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
• Parkinson Recreation Centre – 1800 Parkinson Way.

OCT. 15 POLLS

• Capital News Centre – 4105 Gordon Dr.
• East Kelowna Community Hall – 2704 East Kelowna Rd.
• Evangel Church – 3261 Gordon Dr.
• Kelowna Senior Citizens' Society – 1353 Richter St.
• Mission Creek Alliance Church – 2091 Springfield Rd.
• Okanagan Mission Community Hall – 4409 Lakeshore Rd.
• Parkinson Recreation Centre – 1800 Parkinson Way
• Rutland Elementary School – 620 Webster Rd.
• Springvalley Middle School – 350 Ziprick Rd.
• Watson Road Elementary School – 475 Yates Rd.

WEST KELOWNA

ADVANCE POLL – Oct 13

• City of West Kelowna council chambers – 2760 Cameron Rd.

OCT. 15 POLLS

• Westbank Lions Community Centre - 2466 Main St.
• Constable Neil Bruce Middle School - 2010 Daimler Drive
• Mar Jok Elementary School - 2101 McDougall Rd.

LAKE COUNTRY

• George Elliott Secondary School - 10241 Bottom Wood Lake Rd.

PEACHLAND

• Peachland Community Centre - 4450 - 6th Street

CENTRAL OKANAGAN WEST (For Peachland school trustee)

• Town Suites by Marriott – 3551 Carrington Rd., West Kelowna
• Killiney Beach Community Hall – 514 Udell Rd.

 — This article was updated at 9:30 a.m., Oct. 14, 2022 to add in Central Okanagan West polling stations.

— This article was updated at 10:44 a.m., Oct. 14, 2022 to add Lake Country candidate contact links.

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