JOYCE BRINKERHOFF — CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE OK, Let’s Vote — Kelowna’s 2026 Election Guide Office: School Trustee, Kelowna — School District 23 Submitted: September 15, 2026 at 3:07 PM (Pacific time) Reviewed and published September 15, 2026 Answers supplied by the candidate or authorized campaign representative and published with saved authorization. Private contact emails and upload links are excluded. Paragraph spacing follows the original submission table. Claims in answers are attributed statements, not independently audited results. Outside my role answers do not establish support or opposition and receive no municipal Candidate Match score. Grandchildren’s ethnic backgrounds are omitted from the biography with an explicit privacy marker. PROFILE AND PRIORITIES 1. Which office are you seeking, and where can voters find your campaign and public contact details? Answer: I am running for School Trustee Kelowna on the Central Okanagan Public School Board SD#23 www.joycefortrustee.ca website 2. What experience would you bring to this role? Answer: I bring proven governance leadership plus a broad and multigenerational connection to the Kelowna school community. • Board Governance: As a former SD#23 School Trustee (2011–2014), ongoing community board member, and graduate of numerous board trainings, I bring immediate, collaborative value to the table. • Academic & Career Guidance: As an ESL teacher, medical clinic owner and raising four children in the local system, I am proud to have firsthand experience collaborating with teachers and staff to navigate the challenges of building successful pathways to higher education and future vocations. • Student Advocacy: I have supported my children through the highs and lows of the school yard, helping them build resilience, manage peer dynamics, and overcome challenges. I serve on a number of local organizations which work towards seeing those same values reflected throughout our community. • Fostering Inclusive Citizens: Now watching my 12 grandchildren grow up here, [grandchildren’s ethnic backgrounds omitted for privacy] I intentionally mentor them to navigate a pluralistic society. We openly discuss diversity—cultural, religious, and socioeconomic—and how to champion positive community values. I am ready to leverage my institutional knowledge and deep family perspective to serve SD#23. 3. What are your top three priorities, and one practical action for each? Answer: Collaboration, Resourcing and Flourishing 1.Collaboration – I will work diligently and respectfully with fellow trustees and district staff to support the soon to be adopted Strategic Plan. Kudos to the current board for its work in pulling the expertise from all partner groups. 2. I will advocate for increased, non-targeted funding—as backed by the BCSTA’s 2027 budget submission (see attached report)—to give our local school board the essential financial flexibility to prioritize where local needs are most pressing. 3. I will encourage regular evaluation of district educational goals and programs to demonstrate that we are indeed providing environments which increase levels of academic skill development and social/emotional/mental health awareness throughout the school district. 4. How would you keep your decisions transparent and remain accountable to residents? Answer: School Trustees represent parents and community members and I will therefore be accountable & available to them and will encourage that value in our district. None of us will always get our way but in a democracy it is vital that everyone has their say”. I will encourage public input and will take it to the board table. Trustees will discuss and debate as individuals and then act as a unit. It should also be noted that Trustees are co-governors with the Provincial Govt. Our scope is dictated by the School Act and dependent on policies and funding determined by the government of the day. I will be strong in advocating the govt. on behalf of students and our community. 5. Are there any affiliations or interests relevant to your candidacy that you want voters to know about? Answer: I have been involved for decades with creating welcoming and supportive community programs and events. I am a team player - interested in all aspects of school and community- especially those which affect the most vulnerable in order that all may thrive! I have been active with – Global Citizen Events, Society of HOPE, Community Against Sexual Exploitation of Youth, Community Action Team for Children’s Health, Intercultural Society, Pregnancy Care Centre, Food for Thought, UBC-Okanagan Deputy Vice Chancellor Diversity and Equity Committee, Kelowna Community Resources, United Against Racism & Central Okanagan Local Immigration Partnerships, NITEO, Metro Community. I had been invited to remain on the School District Human Rights Committee and Harmony Day committee and have received various awards locally and provincially for community involvement. 6. What else would you like added or corrected on your website profile? Answer: Although I may have strong opinions on the prevous categories - they are out of the scope of School Trustee QUICK POSITIONS 1. The City should shorten and simplify the process for approving new homes. Answer: Outside my role 2. The City should reduce development cost charges on new housing. Answer: Outside my role 3. Restrictions on short-term rentals should be loosened. Answer: Outside my role 4. The City should pursue expanded public transit service. Answer: Outside my role 5. Infrastructure and service capacity should be ready before major additional growth is approved. Answer: Outside my role 6. The City should advocate for expanded involuntary addiction-treatment capacity. Answer: Outside my role 7. The City should invest in wildfire prevention and preparedness. Answer: Outside my role 8. The City should carry out additional spending audits or operational reviews. Answer: Outside my role 9. The City should make individual councillors’ voting records easier to find and search. Answer: 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. Answer: 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. Answer: 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. Answer: Outside my role 13. The City should help expand co-operative housing and community land trusts. Answer: Outside my role 14. The City should strengthen protections for tenants displaced by redevelopment or renovations. Answer: Outside my role 15. The City should allow more small shops and cafés within residential neighbourhoods. Answer: Outside my role 16. The City should advocate for a second bridge crossing of Okanagan Lake. Answer: Outside my role 17. The City should invest in filling gaps in its sidewalk and cycling networks. Answer: Outside my role 18. The City should expand foot patrols in commercial areas experiencing crime and disorder. Answer: Outside my role 19. The City should support expanded non-police response teams for suitable mental-health and substance-use calls. Answer: Outside my role 20. The City should increase access to public washrooms. Answer: Outside my role 21. The City should prioritize protecting agricultural land when making land-use decisions. Answer: Outside my role 22. The City should strengthen protection for existing trees. Answer: Outside my role 23. The City should limit annual property-tax increases to inflation. Answer: Outside my role 24. Mayor and council pay increases should take effect only after the next election. Answer: Outside my role 25. Would you support a ward system for Kelowna, where residents elect councillors to represent defined geographic areas? Answer: Outside my role AFFORDABILITY Which actions would you prioritize to make housing more affordable in Kelowna? Answer: Outside my role Beyond housing, which actions would you prioritize to make everyday life more affordable in Kelowna? Answer: Outside my role SUPPORTING MATERIAL No files were uploaded. The candidate supplied the BCSTA link below. Its June 25, 2026 announcement was reviewed and confirms that the association’s 2027 budget submission calls for increased non-targeted K–12 funding and greater board discretion. This is funding advocacy, not enacted funding or an endorsement of this candidate. The linked report itself was not separately audited. https://bcsta.org/bcsta-releases-2027-budget-submission-calling-for-increased-investment-in-bcs-k-12-public-education-system The BC Trustees Association Budget Submission Report June 2026 PUBLICATION AUTHORIZATION The saved response authorizes OK, Let’s Vote / Gain Street to review and publish these answers with attribution, confirms permission to share supporting material, and states that the private contact email will not be published.