CANDIDATE FOR CITY COUNCIL
Maxine DeHart
Kelowna councillor seeking another term. Her September 27 questionnaire emphasizes public safety, attainable housing and economic development, with conditional answers and recusal explanations retained in full.
Nomination checked September 28, 2026. Earlier platform and record research: September 8, 2026. Recent statements show their own review dates.
Candidate questionnaire submitted September 27, 2026; reviewed September 28, 2026. Published with authorization; answers are the candidate’s own statements. [412]
Experience & background
Kelowna councillor since 2011; hotel sales director and longtime business columnist. [3]
Re-election announcement seeks a fifth council term. [5]
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 27, 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.
We reducing the development costs just recently by 25% in council to help in this economic slowdown. Other years there has been a slight increase. .
3. Restrictions on short-term rentals should be loosened.
I excused myself from all voting as my husband and I own two short term rentals and short term rentals are also competition to the hotel industry that I have worked in for over 40 years.
4. The City should pursue expanded public transit service.
definitely and council has worked very hard continuing in this effort.
5. Infrastructure and service capacity should be ready before major additional growth is approved.
This would definitely depend on what area of the city we are approving zoning for.
6. The City should advocate for expanded involuntary addiction-treatment capacity.
I have advocated strongly for many years advocated for involuntary to help the citizen on our streets that need help and also to protect our citizens from undue risk.
7. The City should invest in wildfire prevention and preparedness.
I have been working with many areas of the city and residents to accomplish this with the provincial government.
8. The City should carry out additional spending audits or operational reviews.
The city does carry out additional spending audits and operational reviews now.
9. The City should make individual councillors’ voting records easier to find and search.
Any citizen can go on the city website and see this information very easily.
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
Editorial note: This response to a hypothetical question does not establish a historical vote.
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.
I excused myself from this item as my employers own two major golf courses in Kelowna that I am involved in, and also own land also own land abutting Kelowna Springs Golf Course.
Editorial note: This response to a hypothetical question does not establish a historical vote.
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.
Yes / Support
Editorial note: This response to a hypothetical question does not establish a historical vote.
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.
Absolutely and council has been doing a great deal of work with the province on this very issue.
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.
The city does have a plan for this and has been working diligently to provide more sidewalks and cycling networks. I am a walker - 6 km per day and I see the increase in the above. .
18. The City should expand foot patrols in commercial areas experiencing crime and disorder.
Absolutely and this has also been done in the past.
19. The City should support expanded non-police response teams for suitable mental-health and substance-use calls.
Yes and the city has been diligently trying to get IHA and the province on board with this. It had been a huge struggle with IHA. We need to keep advocating for this very issue.
20. The City should increase access to public washrooms.
Yes / Support
21. The City should prioritize protecting agricultural land when making land-use decisions.
I am a huge proponent of saving agriculture land. The farmers know that I support them and will continue to support them. My father-in-law was an orchardist for many years and struggled to keep his land because of weather and water. I know the struggles of farmers very well.
22. The City should strengthen protection for existing trees.
Yes / Support
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.
Yes / Support
25. Would you support a ward system for Kelowna, where residents elect councillors to represent defined geographic areas?
No / Oppose
Housing & growth
Review status not recorded for this section. Missing information does not establish a position. Submit information or a correction ↗
Safety & homelessness
Re-election message emphasizes a safer and healthier community, without a detailed new enforcement or treatment programme on the reviewed page. [37]
Transportation
Review status not recorded for this section. Missing information does not establish a position. Submit information or a correction ↗
Taxes & spending
Review status not recorded for this section. Missing information does not establish a position. Submit information or a correction ↗
Business & jobs
Prioritizes business and local prosperity, drawing on her hotel and community-business work. [37]
Accountability
Presents accessibility and responsiveness to residents as central to her council approach. [37]
Climate, land & water
Review status not recorded for this section. Missing information does not establish a position. Submit information or a correction ↗
Community & services
Highlights parks, recreation, agricultural support and infrastructure as areas of ongoing work. [37]
Recent public statements
What the candidate has said publicly, with links to the original sources.
E-bike & scooter safety · Campaign website
Supports e-bikes and scooters as transport options but would review evidence on speed, routes, enforcement, education and rider safety before deciding whether changes are needed.
A conditional safety review, not a blanket ban.
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.
Selected city and regional decisions. A declared interest and recusal are disclosure actions, not findings of misconduct.
Study electoral reform and prepare a referendum question
Kelowna council
Item 5.2 proposed consultation on at-large, ward, hybrid and ranked-ballot options, plus a conditional 2026 referendum question. This was a bundled study motion, not a vote to implement wards. The published minutes are marked draft.
Outcome: Defeated
[9]Kelowna Springs land-use and rezoning readings
Kelowna council
Second and third readings of bylaws 12863 and 12864 for part of the golf-course property. These were intermediate readings, not final adoption. The published minutes are marked draft; contemporaneous reporting also identifies the votes.
Outcome: Carried, 5–3; one recusal
Declared employer-related interest; did not vote.
[10][11]2026–2030 financial plan and 2026 tax funding
Kelowna council
Item 6.11 approved the financial plan and tax funding with a stated average net property impact of 4.40%. Individual tax bills can differ. The published minutes are marked draft.
Outcome: Carried; Cannan named opposed
Moved motion; present, with only Cannan named opposed.
[12]Regional 2026–2030 financial plan with Option A reductions
RDCO board
Item 6.1 approved the plan and preparation of its bylaw. A weighted corporate vote; a director headcount is not the vote total.
Outcome: Carried; Cannan, Carson, Glasman and Kraft opposed
Present; not named opposed.
[13][16]Business & finances
Public business & professional interests
City biography identifies employment as Ramada Hotel & Conference Centre sales director. [3]
On March 16, 2026, disclosed that her employer owned golf courses and adjacent land, and recused from Kelowna Springs items. Separately disclosed owning two units potentially usable for short-term rentals and hotel employment, and recused from a licence matter. [10]
Public pay & expenses
The City’s 2025 disclosure reports $57,748 in taxable remuneration and $7,437 in other expenses for this council member. Amounts are Canadian dollars. [120]
These are payments and expenses reported for a specific year. They do not establish an annual salary rate, total household income or personal wealth.
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.
At the July 21, 2025 meeting, encouraged businesses to welcome US tourists and discussed a Chamber initiative to communicate that welcome. [38]
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.
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 priorities answer ends mid-sentence in the original submission; no missing words have been inferred.
- Biographical, economic and policy-outcome claims in the response are attributed and have not been independently audited.
- Her recusal explanations do not establish a recorded vote. Existing historical sources remain separate.
Questions worth asking
Editorial questions, not statements attributed to the candidate.
- What would change in a fifth term compared with the current term?
- Which housing, tax and transport targets would she commit to for 2026–2030?
Sources & references
13 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 - 279Reviewed public statement — E-bike & scooter safety
Campaign · 2026 campaign; page undated; reviewed October 6, 2026
maxinedehart.ca - 3City of Kelowna — councillor biographies
Official record · Current council, 2022–2026
kelowna.ca - 5KelownaNow — DeHart and additional council candidates
Reporting · August 27, 2026
kelownanow.com - 10Kelowna council draft minutes — Kelowna Springs readings and recusals, page 2
Official record · March 16, 2026
kelownapublishing.escribemeetings.com - 120City of Kelowna — 2025 Statement of Financial Information, council remuneration (printed page 1)
Official record · Year ended December 31, 2025; published June 2026; reviewed September 8, 2026
kelownapublishing.escribemeetings.com - 37Maxine DeHart — re-election statement
Campaign · 2026 campaign; page undated
maxinedehart.ca - 38Kelowna minutes — traffic signals and councillor statements
Official record · July 21, 2025
kelownapublishing.escribemeetings.com - 9Kelowna council draft minutes — electoral reform, item 5.2, page 3
Official record · October 27, 2025
kelownapublishing.escribemeetings.com - 11KelownaNow — named votes on Kelowna Springs rezoning
Reporting · March 16, 2026
kelownanow.com - 12Kelowna — April 20 draft minutes in May 4 agenda, financial plan, printed pages 11–12
Official record · April 20, 2026 minutes
kelownapublishing.escribemeetings.com - 13RDCO minutes — 2026–2030 financial plan, item 6.1, page 4
Official record · February 19, 2026
pub-rdco.escribemeetings.com - 16RDCO — directors and weighted voting
Official record · Current voting structure
rdco.com