CANDIDATE FOR CITY COUNCIL
Laura Thurnheer
Business and education leader emphasizing planned growth, value for taxes and collaborative decisions.
Nomination checked September 28, 2026. Earlier platform and record research: September 8, 2026. Recent statements show their own review dates.
Candidate questionnaire submitted September 23, 2026; reviewed September 24, 2026. Published with authorization; answers are the candidate’s own statements. [411]
Experience & background
Campaign describes previous Okanagan College associate-dean and BC Chamber chair roles, business ownership and extensive community-board experience. [59]
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 23, 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.
No / Oppose
3. Restrictions on short-term rentals should be loosened.
Yes / Support
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.
No / Oppose
9. The City should make individual councillors’ voting records easier to find and search.
Yes / Support
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.
Undecided
13. The City should help expand co-operative housing and community land trusts.
Undecided
14. The City should strengthen protections for tenants displaced by redevelopment or renovations.
Undecided
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.
Yes / Support
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.
Yes / Support
22. The City should strengthen protection for existing trees.
Undecided
23. The City should limit annual property-tax increases to inflation.
Undecided
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
Would coordinate housing, transportation and infrastructure while protecting quality of life. [60]
Safety & homelessness
Prioritizes safety with compassion and inclusion for vulnerable residents. [60]
Transportation
Places transport planning within a broader managed-growth approach; specific projects are not supplied in the reviewed pillars. [60]
Taxes & spending
Promises taxpayer value by directing resources toward the greatest community impact. [60]
Business & jobs
Review status not recorded for this section. Missing information does not establish a position. Submit information or a correction ↗
Accountability
Advocates transparent consultation, collaboration and accountable results. [60]
Climate, land & water
Review status not recorded for this section. Missing information does not establish a position. Submit information or a correction ↗
Community & services
Emphasizes community wellbeing and inclusive decisions. [60]
Recent public statements
What the candidate has said publicly, with links to the original sources.
Safety and treatment advocacy · Candidate questionnaire
Would lobby for immediate detox beds for youth and adults, a voluntary facility resembling RedFish, and mandatory care for people unable to help themselves. Calls for expanded police, fire and bylaw support alongside compassionate homelessness support.
Candidate-authored Capital News response. Health-service advocacy requires other governments; these are proposals.
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
KGH Foundation’s biography identifies her as owner of Turn Here Solutions, an HR and strategic-planning business, and co-owner of Swiss Skid Steer Solutions. It also lists her as a Foundation director. The biography is undated; ownership stakes and values were not independently verified. [106]
August 2026 announcement reporting identifies a BC Wine Authority general-manager role. This employment or industry role is separate from ownership of her businesses. [5]
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.
Professional background includes education and business-policy leadership. Organizational roles do not establish personal endorsement of every institutional position. [59]
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. 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
- No detailed tax-rate pledge, housing-type targets or specific climate project verified.
- Chamber and college leadership are not elected legislative voting records.
- Recently reviewed statements appear separately; individual social-post, biography and voting research remains incomplete.
Questions worth asking
Editorial questions, not statements attributed to the candidate.
- How would community impact be measured when allocating budgets?
- Which business or industry responsibilities would require disclosure?
Sources & references
6 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 - 153Reviewed public statement — Safety and treatment advocacy
Campaign · October 9, 2026; reviewed October 9, 2026
kelownacapnews.com - 59Laura Thurnheer — campaign and biography
Campaign · 2026 campaign; page undated
turnheresolutions.com - 106KGH Foundation — Laura Thurnheer’s board and business biography
Professional biography · Biography undated; checked September 7, 2026
kghfoundation.com - 5KelownaNow — DeHart and additional council candidates
Reporting · August 27, 2026
kelownanow.com - 60Laura Thurnheer — platform pillars
Campaign · 2026 campaign; page undated
turnheresolutions.com