CANDIDATE FOR SCHOOL TRUSTEE
Ashok Kumar Verma
SD23 trustee candidate for Kelowna. In his September 30 response, Verma emphasizes inclusion, school meal programs, facilities in growing areas and advocacy for provincial education funding.
Nomination checked September 28, 2026. Earlier platform and record research: September 8, 2026. Recent statements show their own review dates.
Candidate questionnaire submitted September 30, 2026; reviewed October 1, 2026. Published with authorization; answers are the candidate’s own statements. [413]
Experience & background
Review status not recorded for this section. Missing information does not establish a position. Submit information or a correction ↗
Issue positions
Campaign proposals are attributed positions. A blank area is an information gap, never an assumed vote against an issue.
IN THE CANDIDATE’S OWN WORDS
Candidate questionnaire · September 30, 2026
Answers supplied by the candidate and published with authorization. Conditional explanations are retained. Answers about past motions are hypothetical, not recorded votes.
Read the full response, priorities and affordability proposals ↗
Read all 25 quick-position answers
1. The City should shorten and simplify the process for approving new homes.
Outside my role
2. The City should reduce development cost charges on new housing.
Outside my role
3. Restrictions on short-term rentals should be loosened.
Outside my role
4. The City should pursue expanded public transit service.
Yes / Support
5. Infrastructure and service capacity should be ready before major additional growth is approved.
Yes / Support
6. The City should advocate for expanded involuntary addiction-treatment capacity.
Yes / Support
7. The City should invest in wildfire prevention and preparedness.
Yes / Support
8. The City should carry out additional spending audits or operational reviews.
Yes / Support
9. The City should make individual councillors’ voting records easier to find and search.
Outside my role
10. Would you have supported the October 27, 2025 electoral-reform study and conditional referendum-preparation motion? This bundled decision did not implement wards.
Outside my role
11. Would you have supported the March 16, 2026 second and third land-use and rezoning readings for part of Kelowna Springs? These were not final adoption.
Outside my role
12. Would you have supported the April 20, 2026 financial-plan and tax-funding motion, with its stated average net property impact of 4.40%? Individual bills vary.
Outside my role
13. The City should help expand co-operative housing and community land trusts.
Yes / Support
14. The City should strengthen protections for tenants displaced by redevelopment or renovations.
Outside my role
15. The City should allow more small shops and cafés within residential neighbourhoods.
Yes / Support
16. The City should advocate for a second bridge crossing of Okanagan Lake.
Yes / Support
17. The City should invest in filling gaps in its sidewalk and cycling networks.
Outside my role
18. The City should expand foot patrols in commercial areas experiencing crime and disorder.
Yes / Support
19. The City should support expanded non-police response teams for suitable mental-health and substance-use calls.
Yes / Support
20. The City should increase access to public washrooms.
Yes / Support
21. The City should prioritize protecting agricultural land when making land-use decisions.
Outside my role
22. The City should strengthen protection for existing trees.
Outside my role
23. The City should limit annual property-tax increases to inflation.
Yes / Support
24. Mayor and council pay increases should take effect only after the next election.
Outside my role
25. Would you support a ward system for Kelowna, where residents elect councillors to represent defined geographic areas?
Yes / Support
Learning & opportunity
Review status not recorded for this section. Missing information does not establish a position. Submit information or a correction ↗
School inclusion & wellbeing
Review status not recorded for this section. Missing information does not establish a position. Submit information or a correction ↗
School funding
Review status not recorded for this section. Missing information does not establish a position. Submit information or a correction ↗
School accountability
Review status not recorded for this section. Missing information does not establish a position. Submit information or a correction ↗
Recent public statements
What the candidate has said publicly, with links to the original sources.
School funding · Candidate questionnaire
Identifies school funding as the most pressing issue and would advocate for provincial resources that respond to the district’s growing needs, with inclusive representation and accountable board leadership.
Candidate-written Capital News response; separate from the OKLV questionnaire. These are campaign proposals, not verified outcomes.
Read the original source ↗School priorities in public interview · Candidate interview
Would advocate increased funding and audit regional facility allocations, arguing Rutland schools need greater investment.
Edited public interview; candidate account.
Read the original source ↗How to read these statements
Voting record
Selected decisions, not a complete voting history. Follow each record for the full motion. Historical votes do not automatically establish current views.
No elected public-office tenure was identified in the reviewed sources. No voting record is attributed. Campaigns, employment and community-board service are not legislative votes.
No individual voting records have been verified for this section. Submit information or a correction ↗
Business & finances
Public business & professional interests
Review status not recorded for this section. Missing information does not establish a position. Submit information or a correction ↗
Personal net worth
No reliable, dated net-worth disclosure was verified in the reviewed sources. Business roles, real-estate interests, public remuneration and campaign donations cannot establish personal net worth. Submit information or a correction ↗
Campaign finances
Campaign receipts and expenses are separate from personal wealth. Historical Kelowna campaign filings can be searched at Elections BC. The City lists January 15, 2027 as the 2026 campaign disclosure deadline. [8][2]
Politics & broader policy
Political alignment & party history
Political alignment unknown
Review status not recorded for this section. Missing information does not establish a position. Submit information or a correction ↗
Broader public & foreign policy
Dated personal statements, historical campaigns and organizational positions are distinguished below.
Review status not recorded for this section. Missing information does not establish a position. Submit information or a correction ↗
This collection is selective. It does not claim to capture every interview, speech, social post or position held over a lifetime.
Contact & follow
Public links from the candidate’s campaign or an official directory.
Not yet verified: email, phone, social accounts. This does not mean the candidate has no account or contact channel.
Contact sources · checked September 13, 2026 (City directory base); later checks noted individually; older campaign contacts retain their original source
Campaign-linked accounts are listed as supplied by the campaign or election directory. Links and contact details can change; availability or a reply is not guaranteed.
Research gaps & questions
What still needs an answer
- This response used the municipal questionnaire; its city-policy answers are retained as attributed statements and are not trustee questionnaire answers or recorded votes.
- Biographical and campaign claims have not been independently audited. An uploaded attachment remains unreviewed and is excluded.
Questions worth asking
Editorial questions, not statements attributed to the candidate.
- What priorities and specific proposals does this candidate want voters to evaluate?
- What relevant experience or public record should be independently sourced for this profile?
Sources & references
3 relevant sources · original publication and review dates appear below. Nomination checked September 28, 2026. Campaign pages describe what a candidate says; official records establish recorded actions.
Photo: City of Kelowna candidate listing
View original image · Checked September 15, 2026. Photographer and image-specific reuse licence are not stated on the candidate listing. Candidate-supplied photograph in the City election directory; photograph date not stated.
- 1City of Kelowna — officially declared 2026 candidates
Official record · Declared September 18, 2026; declaration reviewed October 1, 2026. Campaign-directory links were separately captured September 28, 2026.
kelowna.ca - 137Reviewed public statement — School funding
Campaign · October 10, 2026; reviewed October 13, 2026
kelownacapnews.com - 271Reviewed public statement — School priorities in public interview
Campaign · October 7, 2026; reviewed October 7, 2026
castanet.net