CANDIDATE FOR CITY COUNCIL
Greg Dahms
Council candidate prioritizing safer neighbourhoods, attainable housing, living costs and maintenance of existing infrastructure.
Nomination checked September 28, 2026. Earlier platform and record research: September 8, 2026. Recent statements show their own review dates.
Candidate questionnaire received and reviewed September 14, 2026. Published with authorization; answers are the candidate’s own statements. [393]
Experience & background
Campaign describes real-estate and business experience, a hospitality administration diploma, and youth-sport and community volunteering. Moved to the Okanagan in 2002. [35]
Announced a third council run following unsuccessful 2018 and 2022 bids. [36]
His biography lists a hospitality-administration diploma and continuing study toward an associate business degree, not a completed degree. It describes school parent-council and playground fundraising, youth soccer, animal-welfare volunteering and work with Mission Thrift Store. [35]
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 14, 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.
Yes / Support
2. The City should reduce development cost charges on new housing.
Yes / Support
3. Restrictions on short-term rentals should be loosened.
Conditional / Depends
Candidate’s explanation: I support a more balanced approach to short-term rentals. Restrictions should be loosened where appropriate, but this should be accompanied by clear rules, effective enforcement, and accountability to ensure short-term rentals can coexist responsibly with neighbouring residents and multifamily communities.
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.
Conditional / Depends
Candidate’s explanation: Yes, when there is a clear opportunity to improve efficiency, reduce unnecessary costs, and ensure taxpayers receive value for their money. The audits and reviews should be conducted in a fiscally responsible manner.
9. The City should make individual councillors’ voting records easier to find and search.
Outside my role
Editorial note: Outside my role is the candidate’s selected answer; it is not an editorial finding about municipal jurisdiction.
10. Would you have supported the October 27, 2025 electoral-reform study and conditional referendum-preparation motion? This bundled decision did not implement wards.
Undecided
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.
Undecided
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.
No / Oppose
13. The City should help expand co-operative housing and community land trusts.
Conditional / Depends
Candidate’s explanation: I would support when there is a demonstrable public benefit and appropriate accountability. These projects may require municipal land, grants, fee reductions, tax incentives, or infrastructure investments. The question is whether the public benefit justifies the financial contribution and whether subsidized housing is reaching the people who need it most and eligibility remains appropriate over time.
14. The City should strengthen protections for tenants displaced by redevelopment or renovations.
Outside my role
Editorial note: Outside my role is the candidate’s selected answer; it is not an editorial finding about municipal jurisdiction.
15. The City should allow more small shops and cafés within residential neighbourhoods.
Conditional / Depends
Candidate’s explanation: I support allowing more cafés and small shops in residential areas where there is a demonstrated need for local services, particularly in new and rapidly growing neighbourhoods that lack convenient access to basic amenities. A good example of this is the commercial development by the Ponds in Upper Mission. I would support appropriately designated neighbourhood commercial areas, however these services should be appropriately planned, with consideration given to existing services, traffic, parking, and the character of the surrounding community, avoiding unnecessary expansion of commercial uses into established residential areas that already have reasonable access to services.
16. The City should advocate for a second bridge crossing of Okanagan Lake.
No / Oppose
17. The City should invest in filling gaps in its sidewalk and cycling networks.
Conditional / Depends
Candidate’s explanation: The City should prioritize sidewalk and cycling improvements where they are most needed and most heavily used, particularly in higher-density areas, where significant numbers of residents walk or cycle. Taxpayer dollars should be directed toward projects that improve safety and connectivity while ensuring that improvements do not unnecessarily create traffic or access problems for residents who rely on vehicles.
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.
Conditional / Depends
Candidate’s explanation: The City should consider increasing access to public washrooms, particularly in areas where there is a demonstrated need. Accessible washrooms can improve public health, hygiene, and cleanliness by reducing public urination and defecation. However, facilities must be appropriately located, maintained, and, where necessary, monitored to ensure they remain safe and do not become centres for drug use or other unsafe activity. Any expansion should be based on a practical assessment of community need, cost, safety, and ongoing maintenance.
21. The City should prioritize protecting agricultural land when making land-use decisions.
Yes / Support
22. The City should strengthen protection for existing trees.
Conditional / Depends
Candidate’s explanation: The City should strengthen protection for healthy, established trees, but the focus should be on maintaining and expanding a healthy and sustainable urban forest—not simply preserving every tree. Invasive or unhealthy trees should be appropriately replaced with suitable species. Developers who clear land for construction should also be required to contribute to replanting, replacing lost trees and, where appropriate, adding additional trees to help maintain a healthy balance as our community grows.
23. The City should limit annual property-tax increases to inflation.
Conditional / Depends
Candidate’s explanation: The City should generally limit annual property-tax increases to inflation and make every effort to find alternatives before asking taxpayers for more. Exceptions should only be considered when there is a clearly demonstrated and unavoidable need. Council should provide residents with a transparent explanation of the costs and alternatives.
24. Mayor and council pay increases should take effect only after the next election.
Yes / Support
25. Would you support a ward system for Kelowna, where residents elect councillors to represent defined geographic areas?
Undecided
Housing & growth
Supports faster approvals and lower development charges. Short-term rental changes depend on rules and enforcement. Co-operative housing and land trusts require demonstrated benefit, accountability and appropriate eligibility. [393]
Earlier campaign material: Would review fees, approval delays and regulation that add housing costs while retaining safety and quality standards. [34]
Safety & homelessness
Supports visible foot patrols, involuntary-treatment capacity and suitable non-police response teams. [393]
Earlier campaign material: Favours coordination among police, fire services and businesses, with prevention and possible neighbourhood-watch approaches. [34]
His platform raises neighbourhood-watch programmes as an option to explore. It does not present a finalized staffing model, budget or launch commitment. [34]
Transportation
Supports transit expansion and infrastructure readiness; opposes a second bridge. Sidewalk and cycling projects depend on need, use, safety and vehicle access. [393]
Earlier campaign material: Wants growth assessed against road, water and sewer capacity and costs over 10, 20 and 50 years. [34]
Taxes & spending
Generally favours inflation-limited taxes, with explained exceptions for unavoidable needs. Audits depend on efficiency gains and responsible cost. Supports delaying council pay increases until after elections. [393]
Earlier campaign material: Proposes procurement competition, preventive maintenance and reviews of duplication before tax increases or borrowing. [34]
Would examine administration and contracts before raising taxes while protecting essential services. For major infrastructure, he calls for ten-, twenty- and fifty-year cost perspectives, including maintenance and replacement obligations. [34]
Business & jobs
Supports simpler permits and a broader employer base offering better-paid work. [34]
Accountability
Undecided on municipal wards. His conflict-of-interest answer restates priorities without specifying recusal or disclosure rules. [393]
Earlier campaign material: Would assess programme results and the long-term costs of development decisions. [34]
Climate, land & water
Supports agricultural-land protection. Tree protection depends on health and suitability, with replacement and developer replanting requirements. [393]
Community & services
Selects spending reviews, transit, childcare, recreation fees, walkable neighbourhoods and jobs for everyday affordability. Washrooms depend on need, safety, location and maintenance. [393]
Earlier campaign material: Says parks, recreation and critical services should be protected. [36]
Recent public statements
What the candidate has said publicly, with links to the original sources.
Growth and public costs · Candidate questionnaire
Supports managed growth with infrastructure and services keeping pace. Says he would weigh staff information and financial effects, listen to residents and explain the costs of decisions.
Candidate-written Capital News response; separate from the OKLV questionnaire. These are campaign proposals, not verified outcomes.
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
Publicly identifies work in real estate and past business ownership. The biography does not establish a current, complete list of companies, property interests or ownership values. [35]
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
Unity candidate, 2001
Elections BC lists Greg Dahms as the Unity candidate in Vancouver–Point Grey in 2001; his campaign biography also identifies that provincial candidacy. Current ideological alignment is not established by this old affiliation. [94][35]
Broader public & foreign policy
Dated personal statements, historical campaigns and organizational positions are distinguished below.
Presents regulatory-cost reduction and long-term infrastructure funding as a combined affordability policy, rather than housing construction alone. [34]
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: 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
- The questionnaire supplies conditional tax and housing positions but no quantified housing output, detailed budget or infrastructure delivery schedule.
- The financial-interests answer describes volunteering rather than a current business-interest inventory; recusal and disclosure procedures remain unspecified.
Questions worth asking
Editorial questions, not statements attributed to the candidate.
- Which fees or rules would be changed first, and who would fund the difference?
- How would real-estate business interests be disclosed when land-use matters arise?
Sources & references
7 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 6, 2026. Photographer and reuse licence not stated on the candidate listing.
- 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 - 145Reviewed public statement — Growth and public costs
Campaign · October 9, 2026; reviewed October 13, 2026
kelownacapnews.com - 35Greg Dahms — biography
Campaign · 2026 campaign; page undated
gregdahms.com - 36Castanet — third council run for Dahms
Reporting · August 31, 2026
castanetkamloops.net - 393Greg Dahms — submitted candidate questionnaire (public transcript)
Candidate questionnaire · Submitted September 14, 2026; reviewed and published with candidate authorization September 14, 2026
vote.oksoundsfun.com - 34Greg Dahms — platform
Campaign · 2026 campaign; page undated
gregdahms.com - 94Elections BC — 2001 Statement of Votes
Official record · May 16, 2001
elections.bc.ca