Castanet News has distributed a questionnaire to council candidates in both Kelowna and West Kelowna to help voters get to know those who are putting their names forward. Between the two cities, 45 people are running for councilor. All candidates have been asked the same questions and the answers have been modified for clarity and brevity where necessary. Answers will be posted daily over the next few weeks. An interactive database of Okanagan candidates, including past poll histories, is here and updated daily. Election day is October 15. — Kelowna candidate: Zach Sawatzky Why would he make an effective councilor? Being 41 years old and a stay at home dad to our 19 month old daughter, I learned very quickly my greatest lesson, how to serve others every day. As it stands, councilors are paid $39,000 a year, which is an entry-level salary. All it means is that this is a very important position for the longevity of our community. I have the skills, passion and desire to stay motivated to make a positive impact on my daughter’s generation and our communities. I would love to hear any ideas and initiatives voters believe are important to the success and longevity of Kelowna. In your opinion, what is the number one issue facing the city today and how would you deal with it knowing that city hall only has so much power? The city is in dire need of finding additional sources of revenue. I strongly recommend that the city investigate powering a bitcoin mining project from the landfill gas generated every day. This would allow the city to clean up the methane produced and harness this destructive gas by turning it into electricity, while reducing its carbon footprint. I have several interviews online where I talk more about this if you want to watch them. I also answer every question I get, so feel free to ask any questions. It could be decades before a second Okanagan Lake bridge is built. How are you dealing with Kelowna’s transportation congestion in the meantime? My understanding from the latest testing done by the city was that only 10% of bridge traffic actually goes through, which means 90% of bridge traffic would not benefit from any kind of detour. I certainly care about inconvenient transportation bottlenecks and would like to consider all available solutions to keep our city efficient. Do you think Kelowna is growing too fast? No, healthy growth is good for our city and the somewhat unfortunate reality is that growth is actually necessary if we are to continue to afford the high standard of living that we enjoy so much in our beautiful city. How would you make Kelowna more accessible? The best way Kelowna City Council can make our city more affordable is by finding new ways to generate net new revenue, which we can in turn use to pay for the solutions we all want and need . If you had $1 million to spend on anything in the city, how would you spend it? I would be hard-pressed not to spend it on any project that can provide a profitable and carbon-friendly way forward for the city to generate net new revenue. I am confident that with a little innovation and hard work we can find a way to generate additional revenue for the city each year.
