At least three individuals could be vying for the Kelowna mayor’s chair during October’s municipal elections.
According to the city’s website, Glendon Smedley and David Habib have picked up nomination papers. Smedley ran for mayor unsuccessfully in the 2014 campaign. Habib manages The Liquid Zoo on Lawrence Avenue. Tom Dyas, who ran unsuccessfully in the 2018 campaign against Colin Basran, declared his candidacy for mayor on Jun. 29.
Former Conservative MP Ron Cannan has picked up nomination papers for councillor. Cannan was an MP from 2006 to 2015 and served on Kelowna council from 1996 to 2005. Also picking up nomination packages were David Lindsay and Bruce Orydzuk. Lindsay is a well-known COVID-19 mandate protestor having been fined several thousand dollars by RCMP for his actions at several gatherings he organized. Orydzuk is an anti-vaccine protestor and was charged with threatening a member of the media earlier this year. The incident came after Orydzuk was accused of making racist insults toward a Sikh security guard outside a Kelowna COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Jul. 2021.
Heather Friesen has also indicated an intention to run for council. In 2019, Frisen took Kelowna RCMP to task over its investigation of sexual assaults. Statistics Canada data showed Kelowna RCMP classified almost 40 per cent of sexual assault reports as unfounded in 2018. The number was more than double the 15 per cent average across the province.
Other individuals picking up nomination papers were Brian Rogers, Greg Dahms, Gord Lovegrove, and Anthony Shephard.
READ MORE: ‘There’s more work to do’: Wooldridge running again for Kelowna council
READ MORE: Former Kelowna news anchor tosses hat in ring for city council
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