Tom Dyas will serve another term as mayor of Kelowna after defeating challenger Ron Cannan by 969 votes in Saturday's municipal election, according to the City of Kelowna's unofficial results. Dyas took 19,451 votes, or just over 50 per cent, to Cannan's 18,482 in a race that stayed tight through the night. A total of 38,970 voters cast ballots, putting turnout at an estimated 31 per cent of eligible voters.
The council race brings significant change to City Hall. Voters elected eight councillors: Gord Lovegrove topped the field with 15,462 votes, followed by Davis Kyle with 14,822, Kevin Aaron Kraft with 13,505, Brady Rogers with 12,635, Rick Webber with 12,512, Mohini Singh with 11,968, Laura Thurnheer with 11,949 and Les Bellamy with 11,470. According to the city's results, five newcomers will join three returning councillors at the table.
The results also show voters chose four school trustees for School District No. 23: Jim Strachan led with 21,118 votes, followed by Val Johnson, Richard Gauthier and Joyce Helen Brinkerhoff. Longtime councillor Maxine DeHart, meanwhile, fell outside the eight available council seats and did not win re-election.
In his victory remarks, Dyas acknowledged how close the mayoral race had been and called on the city to move forward together. "Campaigns, as you know, have a way of dividing us into sides. But tomorrow there are no sides," he said, according to local coverage of the results. "There is just one Kelowna."
The results remain unofficial until the chief election officer completes a review, which the city says is expected by October 21. Complete vote counts are posted on the city's election page. Kelowna's is one of dozens of B.C. municipal races decided on October 17 that are being finalized across the province this week.