Our Council
The City of Kelowna is governed by an elected Council comprised of a Mayor and eight Councillors. Members of Council are elected for four-year terms and each member represents the city at large.
In British Columbia, the Community Charter and the Local Government Act grant the elected Council the authority to establish policies to guide the growth, development and operation of the city, set budgets and levy taxes to provide services. Council delegates administrative responsibility to the City Manager, who oversees City operations.
During the November 7, 2022 Inaugural Council Meeting, the new Mayor and Councillors took their Oath of Office.
Elected as Mayor for the first time in 2022, Tom currently sits on the RDCO Board as a Director, Chair of the Airport Advisory Committee, Chair of the Mayor’s Task Force on Crime Reduction, Chair of the Mayor's Task Force on Performing Arts, Member of the BCUMC, as part of the RDCO board a representative on the Municipal Finance Committee, sits on the board of Uptown Rutland Business Association and a member of the Audit Committee.
Tom moved from Toronto to British Columbia in 1986 to be the executive sous chef at Expo. He then went on to be executive chef of Delta Hotels in Whistler. In May of 1987 Tom changed direction when he went into the insurance and financial industry creating his own company, TD Benefits, which he has proudly owned and operated ever since. Over his 36 years in the insurance and financial industry, his company has won numerous awards for customer service, growth of business and client retention.
Tom has always been actively involved in the community, coaching local soccer clubs and sitting on the Boards of Kelowna Minor Hockey, the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, the Okanagan College Advisory and the Child Advocacy Centre and chair of the 2020 Memorial Cup Host Committee.
Running a successful, respectful business has always been a primary focus for Tom, although to date he feels his greatest achievement has been raising his three children into adulthood. With his children now grown and his business a family enterprise with a strong team, Tom’s focus is now on serving our community.
Mayor's Office
Councillor Cannan was first elected to Kelowna City Council in 1996 and served for nine years before becoming a Member of Parliament for Kelowna-Lake Country from 2006 to 2015. During his time on Kelowna City Council, he served as Board Director for the Central Okanagan Regional District, Central Okanagan Regional Hospital District, and UBCM Executive, as well as President of the Okanagan Mainline Municipal Association. An entrepreneur and self-employed as business consultant with Cannan Consulting Corporation, his professional career includes sales and management with Coca-Cola, Hershey Foods and Costco Wholesale, in addition to several years in media sales.
Councillor Cannan has earned the ICD.D designation, which represents a lifelong commitment to excellence in the boardroom and, in 2019, received the Chamber Board Director of the Year Award. He has volunteered with various community and non-profit organizations such as Okanagan Mission Hall Society, Sunrise Rotary, Kelowna Foundation and is a founding team member of the Kelowna Child Advocacy Centre. He and his wife, Cindy, have called Kelowna home for 33 years and are active members in WestMOUNT Church. They have three daughters and five grandchildren. In his spare time, he enjoys playing drums, riding his e-bike, hiking, playing pickleball and slow pitch, reading and spending time with his grandchildren.
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Councillor DeHart has been a Kelowna City Councillor since 2011. During this time, she has served as a board member for multiple organizations, including the Regional District of Central Okanagan (current alternate board member), Downtown Kelowna Association, City of Kelowna Civic and Community Awards, and Kelowna Chamber of Commerce (current board member).
She has been the Director of Sales at the Ramada Hotel & Conference Centre for over 35 years and, in addition to being a regular contributor on AM 1150, she recently celebrated her 25th anniversary writing the popular weekly Straight from DeHart business column for Kelowna Capital News. Highly involved in community service, Councillor DeHart is the founder of the Maxine DeHart United Way Ramada Hotel Drive-Thru Breakfast. In its 22nd year, it has raised over $1,000,000 for the local United Way. She has received numerous awards and honours for her community involvement including having been appointed Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the British Columbia Dragoons.
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Charlie Hodge is a veteran Kelowna City Councillor and Regional District of Central Okanagan Director currently serving his fifth term as an elected City Councillor.
During current and previous council terms Charlie's held numerous portfolios or committees including Okanagan Basin Water Board, chamber of commerce, joint water board, environment, youth, accessibility committee, women’s and community committee, parks and open spaces, regional library board, Downtown Kelowna Business Association, Uptown Rutland Business Association and housing.
A professional author/writer by trade Hodge was born and raised in the South Okanagan. He spent more than 30 years as a journalist in British Columbia including 10 years as an editor or assistant editor. Hodge has written three books including last year’s historical-fiction novel – Lost Souls of Lakewood - The History and Mystery of Blaylock’s Mansion. He also penned Golly Gee - It’s Me! - a Canadian best-selling biography on hockey legend Howie Meeker.
Hodge is well known for his knowledge and background in strategic planning, conflict resolution, as a skilled facilitator, public speaker, and an effective personal coach. His creative promotional skills and strategic planning have been utilized for many years in the Canadian music industry, provincial, national, and international environmental fields, and municipal, provincial, and federal politics.
His hobbies include gardening and fishing. Charlie shares his Okanagan home with wife Teresa and five cats.
Contact
250-979-7254 (home)
250-808-0674 (cell)
Councillor Lovegrove has been a Kelowna City Councillor since 2022. During this time, he has served as a board member with the Regional District of Central Okanagan and served on several committees including: the Bio-solids advisory committee, Southern Interior Local Government Association, Southern Interior Municipal Employers’ Association , Okanagan Basin Water Board (RDCO appointment), and Sterile Insect Release Board (RDCO appointment).
He has served as a board member on a range of service-based organizations including the UBC Senate, Kelowna Gospel Mission, Fresh Outlook Foundation, Safe Routes to School, BC Cycling Coalition, and the BC Road Safety Committee. On a federal level, Lovegrove has served as a departmental science advisor to several Deputy Ministers and on the federal Environment & Climate Change Canada Minister’s scientific advisory committee, which steers research and development of the federal climate action 2050 plan.
Councillor Lovegrove was one of the engineers responsible for the design and launch of the UBC Student U-Pass program, which resulted in a 300% increase in transit ridership and a reduction of over 10,000 tonnes of annual GHG emissions.
He is an avid lake swimmer, educator, and mentor.
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Councillor Stack was first elected to Kelowna City Council in 2008, and then re-elected in 2011, 2014, 2018 and 2022. He has been an appointed Director of the Downtown Kelowna Association, Kasugai Sister City Association and the Regional Board for the Central Okanagan Regional District.
Councillor Stack recently retired from a 33-year-career as a founder and Executive Director of the Society of Hope, which developed and operates 700 units of affordable rental housing. He is a founding Director of the BC Non-profit Housing Association, he has served as a Hospital Trustee, Church Elder, and Commissioner on the City of Kelowna Advisory Planning Commission. He and his wife, Anne, have three adult children, Joel, Laura, and Heather, and four grandchildren. He enjoys cycling, swimming and pickleball.
Contact
250-878-4990
Elected for the first time to Kelowna City Council in October 2022, Councillor Webber has worked as a broadcaster for 43 years on a variety of radio and television stations, including three decades as News Anchor and Executive Editor for Global Okanagan/CHBC Television. In addition to his role on Kelowna City Council, he is an alternate board member for the Regional District of Central Okanagan. Through his news reporting, and as a longtime volunteer emcee for numerous Okanagan organization’s fundraisers and events, Councillor Webber is well acquainted with Kelowna and surrounding region. In his spare time, he enjoys riding his motorcycle throughout the Okanagan.
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First elected in 2018, Councillor Wooldridge is a two-term member of Kelowna City Council and serves as Board Chair for the Regional District of Central Okanagan and the Okanagan Regional Library. An experienced entrepreneur, he founded his first business at the age of 21 with the belief that community should be at the heart of all organizations. Since then, his professional approach has been balancing a business mind with a social conscious. He has received provincial accolades for his anti-bullying campaign, ‘I AM ME,’ and volunteers with organizations that support mental health, underrepresented voices and animals. In his spare time, he can often be found in the kitchen cooking locally grown food and entertaining friends.
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Council committees
Council committees are created under the Community Charter to provide an opportunity for members of the public to work collaboratively and provide advice on matters referred to them by Council through their Terms of Reference.
Learn more about Council committees
Remuneration
The Mayor receives $135,848.65 annually. Councillors receive $50,535.57 annually, plus an additional $350 per month when they serve as Deputy Mayor. These salaries are effective April 15, 2024 and are adjusted in years 1 and 3 of each Council term to match the 60th percentile of Mayor's and Councillors' indemnities in comparable municipalities in British Columbia. For more information, read the Council Remuneration & Expense Bylaw No. 7547.
