Lisa Helps, Ken Christian, Colin Basran re-elected in Victoria, Kamloops, and Kelowna

Posted October 20, 2018 8:59 pm.

Last Updated October 21, 2018 1:51 am.

This article is more than 5 years old.

BRITISH COLUMBIA (NEWS 1130) – Results form key ridings across British Columbia:

Victoria

Residents in Victoria have re-elected mayor Lisa Helps.

She had some serious competition in this election — she was one of 10 mayoral candidates — but drew 42.6 per cent of the votes, finishing ahead of Stephen Hammond by nearly 4,000 votes

Helps faced some intense scrutiny over the election period, largely over the city’s bike lane network, and council’s decision to remove the John A. MacDonald statue this summer.

Housing, however, was the key issue in this election. In Victoria, there simply isn’t enough of it.

And housing was Helps key platform point, along with affordability in general.

About 45 per cent of eligible voters participated.

Council:

Marianna Alto
Laurel Collins
Sharmarke Dubow
Ben Isitt
Jeremy Loveday
Sarah Potts
Charlayne Thorton-Joe
Geoff Young

Kamloops

In Kamloops, Ken Christian has been re-elected as mayor, by a landslide.

He won with more than 86 per cent – more than 17,000 votes – in his favour. His opponent, William Turnbull, pulled about 1,600 votes.

Christian, who was elected last year in a by-election, said he’s excited to begin a full term.

“This was really a performance evaluation in terms of how myself and council did this past year. I think we were largely satisfied with the result,” he said. “I think there was a great crew of candidates for the councilor positions, and many of them put forward positions that were very unique toe their campaigns that I think resonated with some of the voters.”

By and large, however, the majority of voters decided to keep the status quo.

Kamloops voters were focused on housing as a top issue. There, residents are facing a housing squeeze, potentially from people looking to escape the hot housing market in the Lower Mainland.

Voter turnout was at about 30 per cent of eligible voters.

Council:

Arjun H Singh
Kathy E Sinclair
Mike S O’Reilly
Dieter W Dudy
Dale Bass
Denis J Walsh
Sadie A Hunter
Bill B Sarai

Kelowna

Meanwhile, in Kelowna, Colin Basran has been re-elected with more than 18,000 votes.

He beat out a former close friend – Tom Dyas – pulling nearly twice the number of votes.

Crime in the downtown, along with housing, homelessness and poverty, were top issues in the city. Now Basran is hoping he can address some of these issues going into his new term as mayor.

About 32 per cent of eligible voters turned out in Kelowna.

Council:

Maxine DeHart
Gail M Given
Luke H Stack
Brad Sieben
Mohini Singh
Charlie W Hodge
Ryan J Donn
Loyal W Wooldridge

Read about some of the main issues in Victoria, Kelowna and Kamloops.

Nanaimo

Nanaimo residents have elected a new mayor, but he’s not new to politics.

It’s Leonard Krog, currently the NDP MLA for Nanaimo. That leaves his seat open, and will trigger a by-election in the riding.

That could be a problem for B.C.’s government, held together by the NDP and Greens working together. Now, the legislature will may to rely on the Speaker of the house to break a tie vote.

About 40 per cent of eligible voters participated.