Our non-partisan commitment

Zio Advertising is a Kelowna marketing agency. We built this tool as a free public resource. We do not endorse any candidate, we take no position on the race, and no candidate has paid for or influenced their placement. The tool matches a reader’s answers to sourced candidate positions — nothing more.

Where positions come from

We score candidate positions only from public, citable sources, in this order of authority:

Recorded council votes. For sitting councillors and the mayor, actual votes in City of Kelowna council minutes — the strongest evidence, because it’s what they did, not what they said. When a councillor’s vote and their campaign statement conflict, the vote wins, and we show both.
The candidate’s own words. Answers to a standardized candidate questionnaire, statements in interviews and all-candidates forums, and reporting from Castanet, KelownaNow and Kelowna Capital News.
Campaign material. Positions published on a candidate’s own website or official social accounts.

Every score carries a citation — a source, a date, and a quote or vote description — which you can click on any result. Where a candidate has no citable position on an issue, we leave it blank. We never infer a position from a candidate’s occupation, endorsements, or slate membership.

How matching works

You answer each of the 21 statements on a five-point agree-to-disagree scale, and may flag the issues that matter most to you to count double. For each candidate we measure the distance between your answers and their positions, across only the statements you both have a position on, and convert it to a match percentage. You can see how many of your answered questions a given match is based on right on each candidate’s card.

Candidates with fewer than 6 sourced positions are shown separately as “not enough public record” rather than ranked on thin data. Of the 40 candidates, 33 currently meet that bar; the rest can move onto the ranked list by completing our questionnaire (below). Positions drawn from a candidate’s earlier (2022) campaign are labelled as such.

Candidates: verify or correct your positions

We’ve emailed every candidate the same questionnaire. If you’re a candidate and want to confirm, add, or correct any position attributed to you, email [email protected]. Confirmed candidates receive a “Verified by candidate” badge, and your own answers replace our researched estimates. We turn corrections around within one to two business days.

Known limitations

Public records are uneven — late entrants and lower-profile candidates have thinner coverage, which the tool shows honestly rather than papering over.
One of our source items for a growth-boundary vote was a letter authored by a person who is themselves a candidate; we’ve withheld scores that rest on it alone pending direct confirmation from the council minutes.
One council candidate (Nikki Csek) is a co-owner of KelownaNow, one of our sources. Her scores are drawn from her own questionnaire answers and campaign material, not from KelownaNow coverage.
Eighteen statements can’t capture every issue or the nuance within one. Treat a match as a prompt to research further, not a verdict.

The candidates

All 40 candidates on Kelowna’s October 17, 2026 ballot — 3 for mayor and 37 for council. The number in brackets is how many of the 21 issues that candidate has a sourced public position on so far.

Mayor

Tom Dyas (incumbent) — Incumbent mayor since Nov 2022; insurance/financial-services business owner and former Kelowna Chamber of Commerce president; chairs the Mayor's Task Forces on Crime Reduction and Performing Arts. campaign site [19/21 positions on record]
Ron Cannan — Sitting Kelowna councillor (2022-present, topped 2022 polls); former Conservative MP for Kelowna-Lake Country (2006-2015); 13 total years on council; business owner. campaign site [18/21 positions on record]
Andrew Uitvlugt — Self-employed inventor and digital creator ('Andy'/'AMU'); perennial Kelowna candidate (mayor 2005 and 2014, council 2009 and 2011). [0/21 positions on record]

Council

Maxine DeHart (incumbent) — Kelowna councillor since 2011; hotelier (Director of Sales, Ramada) and weekly newspaper columnist; founder of the United Way Drive-Thru Breakfast. campaign site [12/21 positions on record]
Gord Lovegrove (incumbent) — First-term councillor (2022); UBCO engineering professor (retiring 2026); transportation engineer and UN SDG advocate. campaign site [15/21 positions on record]
Mohini Singh (incumbent) — Kelowna councillor since 2011 (4 terms); former CHBC/CBC journalist (22 years); Order of B.C. (2008); founder, East Meets West Children's Foundation. campaign site [10/21 positions on record]
Rick Webber (incumbent) — First-term councillor (2022, 3rd-most votes); retired CHBC/Global Okanagan TV news anchor with 43 years in broadcasting; runs self-funded, no donations or endorsements. [12/21 positions on record]
Susan Ames — Retired environmental consultant (PhD Resource Management); president, Abbott Street Heritage Conservation Area Society; frequent letter-writer; 2022 council candidate. campaign site [15/21 positions on record]
Les Bellamy — 30+ year business/project leader ('$100M+ projects managed'); first-time candidate; slogan 'Less Politics. Real Solutions.' campaign site [11/21 positions on record]
Chris Bocskei — 25-year professional painter and 40+ year Rutland resident/community advocate; open about past lived experience of addiction and homelessness; files as Christopher L Bocskei. campaign site [12/21 positions on record]
Doris Bregolisse — REALTOR with Macdonald Realty and retired broadcast journalist (17 years anchor/reporter at Global Okanagan/CHBC); 34-year Kelowna resident. campaign site [9/21 positions on record]
Nikki Csek — Founder/CEO of Csek Creative and NowMedia Group (parent of KelownaNow); past president of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce. campaign site [9/21 positions on record]
Greg Dahms — Real estate professional and former local business owner (ex-Kelowna SPCA Thrift Store); third run at Kelowna council (2018, 2022, 2026). campaign site [6/21 positions on record]
Todd Daniels — Owner of Gallery Streetwear on Bernard Ave; former pro snowboarder and 13-year fire-lookout observer; became a downtown public-safety advocate after a Jan 2026 break-in at his shop. campaign site [9/21 positions on record]
Indy Dhial — Owner of TGP Kids Early Learning Centres; president of OKGN Apna Sports and Cultural Society; Rutland resident; second council run (also 2022). campaign site [7/21 positions on record]
Crystal Dougan — Owner of Little Hobo Soup & Sandwich Shop downtown (15 years); former social worker with Arc Programs; Downtown Kelowna Association executive board. [6/21 positions on record]
Tim Down — Commercial real estate broker and property-tax advisor (~4 decades in valuation/assessment); former Terrace city councillor (late 1990s). campaign site [9/21 positions on record]
Julia Fraser — 15-year Central Okanagan Public Schools trustee (4 terms; past Board Chair); 30-year B2B sales career; UBC economics grad. campaign site [5/21 positions on record]
Daniel Fritter — Publisher/editor of Calibre Magazine (Canadian firearms publication); in Kelowna since ~2016; running primarily on public safety. campaign site [7/21 positions on record]
Bal Grewal — Lawyer (founder/managing partner, BSG Law Corp) and business owner; 2022 council candidate (14th); legal name Balraj Singh Grewal. campaign site [18/21 positions on record]
King James III — Registered on the ballot under the legal name 'King James' (styled King James III); LinkedIn self-describes as 'Sovereign of BC.' [0/21 positions on record]
Hamid Khajavi — Kelowna-born realtor, home builder and small-scale developer, 40; UBCO business degree; past BC Conservative regional organizer (pre-2013, noted only). campaign site [8/21 positions on record]
Kevin Kraft — Sitting RDCO East Electoral Area director (past board vice-chair); farmer, teacher, former firefighter; 2024 provincial independent candidate. campaign site [7/21 positions on record]
Davis Kyle — Procurement and contract specialist (BC Public Service), 29; 2022 council candidate (9th, 1,096 votes short); co-founder of Strong Towns Kelowna, past president Kelowna Cycling Coalition. campaign site [18/21 positions on record]
Teresa May — Kelowna businesswoman (serial owner: custom home building, talent agency, dental practice, specialty meat shop), author, former teacher; legal name Teresa Teschner. NOT the former UK PM. campaign site [6/21 positions on record]
Trevor McAleese — Independent video game developer (Drixxel Soft), ex-BC Ministry of Finance; 2025 federal NDP candidate for Kelowna; lifelong Okanagan resident. campaign site [11/21 positions on record]
Randy Millis — Multimedia journalist and advocate; background in radio, IT, community/shelter support work; lived experience of disability and housing instability. campaign site [3/21 positions on record]
Humberto Morales (BRACE) — 25-year Kelowna resident; entrepreneur/business developer, financial advisor with World Financial Group; BRACE for Change founding candidate. Official ballot name 'H. Morales.' campaign site [10/21 positions on record]
Brian Pinter — Kelowna small-business owner (bakery-goods distribution since 2013), former independent mortgage broker and RCMP Auxiliary volunteer; in Kelowna since 2007. campaign site [11/21 positions on record]
JC Rathwell (BRACE) — Serial entrepreneur (hospitality/real estate/tourism, 20+ yrs); ran for Kelowna council in 2005; BRACE for Change founding candidate; legal name Jay C Rathwell. campaign site [10/21 positions on record]
Brady Rogers — Co-founder of The Rogerie (downtown shop turning recovered plastic waste into products); UBCO grad, former robotic-automation engineer; legal name Brayden John David Rogers. campaign site [1/21 positions on record]
Brian Rogers — Electrician; Kelowna resident 50+ years; former People's Party of Canada federal candidate (2021); ran for council 2022. ForChange lists him as 'Brian Robert Rogers.' [2/21 positions on record]
Mike Rose — Landscape gardener (~20 years) and musician in multiple Okanagan bands; ~22 years in Kelowna; first-time candidate. [7/21 positions on record]
Todd Sanderson — CPA, CA, CEPA (35+ years; former partner at Grant Thornton and BDO); past president of Kelowna Chamber, Downtown Kelowna Association and URBA; 2009 byelection runner-up. campaign site [9/21 positions on record]
Corey Severin (BRACE) — Kelowna small-business owner (Kelowna Sea-Doo Rentals); background in environmental protection and large-scale construction/energy project supervision; BRACE founding candidate. campaign site [5/21 positions on record]
Glendon Smedley — Red Seal journeyman carpenter and mechanical engineering technologist; homeless-outreach volunteer; perennial candidate (mayor 2014 and 2022 - 0.82% in 2022). [6/21 positions on record]
Silverado Socrates — Horse trainer / outdoor-recreation operator and former champion cross-country runner (Central Okanagan Sports Hall of Fame, 2026); lived experience of homelessness; perennial candidate (mayor 2012 as Silverado Shackleton, mayor 2022). Official list: Silverado Brooks Socrates. campaign site [6/21 positions on record]
Laura Thurnheer — Lifelong Kelowna resident; GM of the BC Wine Authority; former Okanagan College associate dean (18 yrs); past Kelowna Chamber president, current BC Chamber chair; member of the Mayor's Task Force on Crime and Safety; ran for council 2014. campaign site [9/21 positions on record]
Lee-Ann Tiede — Three-term Central Okanagan (SD23) school trustee incl. two years as board chair; three-term Glenmore-Ellison Improvement District trustee; 30 yrs corporate ops/admin; official list 'Lee-Ann R Tiede.' campaign site [7/21 positions on record]
Rob Wilkinson (BRACE) — Independent contractor/interior-remodel specialist, frontline health-care worker (geriatrics), sculptor of the Kelowna 100-Year Centennial Collage in City Hall; 39 years in Kelowna; slogan 'Uncompromised.' campaign site [12/21 positions on record]

The 21 statements

Agreeing with each statement moves you toward the noted pole:

It should be legal to build 4 to 6 storey apartments in more of Kelowna's single-family neighbourhoods. (agree → faster growth)
The city should approve new development faster, even if that means less public input on individual projects. (agree → faster growth)
New growth should go downtown and into town centres instead of spreading onto the hillsides and suburbs. (agree → faster growth)
Kelowna should put tighter limits on short-term rentals like Airbnb to free up homes for long-term renters. (agree → slower growth)
The city should pay for more supportive and transitional housing, even if property taxes go up. (agree → more services)
The city should clear tents and encampments out of parks and public spaces more aggressively. (agree → tougher enforcement)
Kelowna should expand services like complex care and harm reduction. (agree → rehabilitation and root causes)
Kelowna should pay for more RCMP officers, even if property taxes go up. (agree → tougher enforcement)
Downtown needs a lot more bylaw officers and security on the street. (agree → tougher enforcement)
Holding property-tax increases to inflation matters more than adding new city services. (agree → hold taxes)
Before raising taxes, the city should cut spending on services that aren't essential. (agree → hold taxes)
The city should spend more on transit and protected bike lanes, even if that takes away road space or parking. (agree → more services)
Widening and adding roads for drivers should be Kelowna's number-one transportation priority. (agree → hold taxes/roads pole)
The city should lower the fees it charges builders to encourage more housing, even if that leaves less money for infrastructure. (agree → faster growth)
The city should fund big downtown projects like the proposed Performing Arts Centre, even when the cost to taxpayers is high. (agree → more services)
Climate action should be one of the city's top budget priorities. (agree → more services)
Farmland on the edge of Kelowna should stay protected from development, even if that means less room for new housing. (agree → slower growth)
Big city spending projects should go to a public referendum before they're approved. (agree → slower growth/populist pole)
The city has approved too much new development without the roads and infrastructure to handle the traffic it creates. (agree → slower, infrastructure first)
Council should stop approving towers far taller than the zoning allows, like signing off on an extra 10 or 20 storeys. (agree → stick to the zoning)
Kelowna should take a harder line on repeat offenders, including pushing the province and the courts for stricter bail and prosecution to protect residents. (agree → tougher enforcement)

Methodology & Corrections