CANDIDATE FOR SCHOOL TRUSTEE
Val Johnson
Kelowna school-trustee candidate and current SD23 board chair. Her submitted priorities are student outcomes, family and community connections, and responsible stewardship.
Nomination checked September 28, 2026. Earlier platform and record research: September 8, 2026. Recent statements show their own review dates.
Candidate questionnaire submitted September 20, 2026; reviewed September 21, 2026. Published with authorization; answers are the candidate’s own statements. [408]
Experience & background
In her September 20 questionnaire, Johnson describes more than 20 years in early childhood education and child care. She connects that experience with student-centred decisions, fiscal responsibility and safe, inclusive learning environments. [408]
The current SD23 board directory lists Valene Johnson as board chair and a Kelowna trustee. [409]
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 20, 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.
Outside my role
5. Infrastructure and service capacity should be ready before major additional growth is approved.
Outside my role
6. The City should advocate for expanded involuntary addiction-treatment capacity.
Outside my role
7. The City should invest in wildfire prevention and preparedness.
Outside my role
8. The City should carry out additional spending audits or operational reviews.
Outside my role
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.
Outside my role
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.
Outside my role
16. The City should advocate for a second bridge crossing of Okanagan Lake.
Outside my role
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.
Outside my role
19. The City should support expanded non-police response teams for suitable mental-health and substance-use calls.
Outside my role
20. The City should increase access to public washrooms.
Outside my role
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.
Outside my role
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?
Outside my role
IN THE CANDIDATE’S OWN WORDS
School trustee questionnaire · 2026-10-04
SD23 · City of Kelowna. Candidate-supplied answers are attributed statements, not independently verified outcomes or recorded votes.
Learning & opportunity
Supports the district Strategic Plan, academic success, future readiness, student agency and voice. Says she would use data, student perspectives and partner feedback in board decisions. [408]
School inclusion & wellbeing
Supports inclusive learning environments, well-being and safety, and ongoing conversations with families, staff, Indigenous partners and community members. [408]
School funding
Prioritizes responsible stewardship and effective use of resources and services for student success; the response does not provide new costings or a specific funding request. [408]
School accountability
Says she would explain her decisions and reasoning, remain approachable and open to questions, and engage with families and district partners. She marked all 25 municipal policy questions Outside my role. [408]
Recent public statements
What the candidate has said publicly, with links to the original sources.
School priorities in public interview · Candidate interview
Calls for sustained, predictable funding for mental-health and inclusive-learning supports, alongside aging-school infrastructure and maintenance.
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.
SD23 lists Valene Johnson as its current board chair and a Kelowna trustee. Individual board votes have not yet been verified for this profile; no voting record is inferred from her office or campaign claims.
No individual voting records have been verified for this section. Submit information or a correction ↗
Business & finances
Public business & professional interests
Johnson reports no conflicting affiliations or interests beyond her current trustee role and child-care career. This is her disclosure, not an independently audited financial-interest inventory. [408]
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. 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
- Independent verification of the candidate’s proposed actions and outcomes remains outstanding.
- A complete independent financial-interest and voting-record review remains outstanding. These are editorial research gaps, not unanswered questionnaire requirements.
Questions worth asking
Editorial questions, not statements attributed to the candidate.
- What practical first steps would advance your three priorities?
- How would residents follow progress on those actions?
Sources & references
4 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 14, 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 - 270Reviewed public statement — School priorities in public interview
Campaign · October 7, 2026; reviewed October 7, 2026
castanet.net - 408Val Johnson — submitted candidate questionnaire (public transcript)
Candidate questionnaire · Submitted September 20, 2026; reviewed September 21, 2026 with publication authorization
vote.oksoundsfun.com - 409SD23 — current board members
Official record · Current directory, checked September 21, 2026
sd23.bc.ca