LAURA THURNHEER — CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE OK, Let’s Vote — 2026 Election Guide Office: Kelowna City Council Submitted: Sep 23, 2026 04:15 PM (time displayed by CRM) Reviewed for publication September 24, 2026 Answers supplied by the candidate or authorized campaign representative with saved publication authorization. Private contact details and internal identifiers are excluded. Original wording is retained, with normalized paragraph spacing. These are attributed statements, not independently audited facts or outcomes. Hypothetical answers about earlier council motions are not recorded votes. PROFILE AND PRIORITIES 01 · Your candidacy and priorities Answer: City Councillor Kelowna, BC My Platform is on my website: https://www.turnheresolutions.com Give a short biography focused on experience relevant to the office. What would you bring that voters cannot learn from a job title? Answer: Brief details can be found on my website: https://www.turnheresolutions.com What are your three highest priorities for the next term? For each, give a first-year action, a measurable result and a realistic timeline. Answer: 1. The first major issue facing Kelowna is Managed Growth. Kelowna is growing, and growth brings both opportunity and responsibility. I have watched this community grow from a smaller city into a thriving and increasingly complex urban centre. Growth can create housing opportunities, support businesses, strengthen our economy, and provide new possibilities for families and future generations. But if growth gets ahead of infrastructure, transportation, services, and community planning, it can also place pressure on affordability and quality of life. I do not believe the answer is simply to stop growth. Nor do I believe growth should happen without sufficient planning. I would look at existing long-term plans, consult with citizens and take input from the staff. I would review best practices from other parts of Canada and work collectively to make the best decisions. 2. The second major issue facing Kelowna is Crime and Safety. Residents should feel safe in their homes, neighbourhoods, businesses, public spaces, and downtown. Businesses should have confidence that their employees, customers, and property are protected. At the same time, we need to recognize that some of the challenges associated with homelessness, mental health, addiction, and vulnerability are complex social issues that cannot be addressed through enforcement alone. My approach is therefore one of safe and inclusive communities. It calls for expanded support for police, fire, and bylaw services, protection of citizen and business rights, and compassionate support for people experiencing homelessness. As a member of the Mayor’s Task Force on Crime and Safety we put forth 10 recommendations that should be continued to be worked on at both the local, provincial and national level. I would also like to add lobbying for detox beds for both youth and adults and a voluntary compassionate care centre for the interior, like Red Fish in the lower mainland. 3. The third major issue is Fiscal Responsibility. Growth creates opportunities, but it also creates demands on infrastructure, transportation, services, recreation, and public safety. At the same time, residents expect value for their tax dollars. My platform therefore identifies effective cost management and recognizable value for the tax dollar as priorities. It also calls for investing resources where they will have the greatest community impact and for expanding revenues beyond taxes. For me, fiscal responsibility does not mean simply spending less. It means making sure public money is spent wisely and where it can achieve the greatest benefit. Sometimes responsible financial management means saying no. Sometimes, it means making an investment now because delaying it will cost more later. And sometimes it means looking for a different way to deliver a service or generate revenue. And finally, aggressive pursuit of grants to subsidize city investments is an action that needs careful use. How would you handle conflicts of interest, lobbying, gifts, campaign support, closed meetings and recusal? What additional disclosure or independent oversight would you support? Answer: By giving clear and honest communications one of my highest priorities. Only by doing that will I be able to look our citizens in the eye and know that I have their trust to fulfill the promises that I made to them. Disclose business ownership, employment, directorships, development interests, paid advisory roles or other financial interests relevant to the office. Give public sources and explain how you would handle related decisions. Do not include home addresses, account numbers or confidential documents. Answer: For this information please see 'Facts about Laura' on my webpage. Needless the say, building up my experience over the years has been a great pleasure. Serving our community in business, education, non-profits, sports and others has enabled me to help shape the way our community has evolved. I have worked with some wonderful caring and energetic people who want the best for our citizens and their families. I hope to be considered worthy of your vote and to serve you with energy, enthusiasm and honesty. QUICK POSITIONS 1. The City should shorten and simplify the process for approving new homes. Answer: Yes / Support 2. The City should reduce development cost charges on new housing. Answer: No / Oppose 3. Restrictions on short-term rentals should be loosened. Answer: Yes / Support 4. The City should pursue expanded public transit service. Answer: Yes / Support 5. Infrastructure and service capacity should be ready before major additional growth is approved. Answer: Yes / Support 6. The City should advocate for expanded involuntary addiction-treatment capacity. Answer: Yes / Support 7. The City should invest in wildfire prevention and preparedness. Answer: Yes / Support 8. The City should carry out additional spending audits or operational reviews. Answer: No / Oppose 9. The City should make individual councillors’ voting records easier to find and search. Answer: 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. Answer: 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. Answer: 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. Answer: Undecided 13. The City should help expand co-operative housing and community land trusts. Answer: Undecided 14. The City should strengthen protections for tenants displaced by redevelopment or renovations. Answer: Undecided 15. The City should allow more small shops and cafés within residential neighbourhoods. Answer: Yes / Support 16. The City should advocate for a second bridge crossing of Okanagan Lake. Answer: Yes / Support 17. The City should invest in filling gaps in its sidewalk and cycling networks. Answer: Yes / Support 18. The City should expand foot patrols in commercial areas experiencing crime and disorder. Answer: Yes / Support 19. The City should support expanded non-police response teams for suitable mental-health and substance-use calls. Answer: Yes / Support 20. The City should increase access to public washrooms. Answer: Yes / Support 21. The City should prioritize protecting agricultural land when making land-use decisions. Answer: Yes / Support 22. The City should strengthen protection for existing trees. Answer: Undecided 23. The City should limit annual property-tax increases to inflation. Answer: Undecided 24. Mayor and council pay increases should take effect only after the next election. Answer: Yes / Support 25. Would you support a ward system for Kelowna, where residents elect councillors to represent defined geographic areas? Answer: Undecided AFFORDABILITY AND ADDITIONAL COMMENTS Which actions would you prioritize to make housing more affordable in Kelowna? Answer: Allow more housing in areas with infrastructure and services Beyond housing, which actions would you prioritize to make everyday life more affordable in Kelowna? Answer: "Expand affordable public transit, Partner to improve access to affordable childcare, Support local jobs and business opportunities, Outside my role" SUPPORTING MATERIAL Supporting media was not used to establish the positions transcribed above. Private attachment links are omitted. PUBLICATION AUTHORIZATION I am the candidate or an authorized campaign representative. I authorize OK, Let’s Vote / Gain Street to review and publish these answers with attribution. I have permission to share the supporting material and have identified any items for review only. My private contact email will not be published.