LEE-ANN TIEDE — CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE OK, Let’s Vote — 2026 Election Guide Office: Kelowna City Council Submitted: September 18, 2026 7:23 AM (CRM displayed Pacific time) Reviewed and published September 18, 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 Council https://lee-anntiede.ca/ Give a short biography focused on experience relevant to the office. What would you bring that voters cannot learn from a job title? Answer: I bring 12 years of experience as an elected School Trustee with Central Okanagan Public Schools (SD23), along with 9 years serving on the Glenmore-Ellison Improvement District (GEID) Board. Through my work with the School District, I have also developed experience working with both the Teachers' Union and CUPE. My experience includes serving on public and private boards, overseeing significant budgets, and understanding the important distinction between the governance role of elected officials in setting direction and the operations responsibilities of staff. I will bring this experience, along with a commitment to listening to understand, responsible decision-making, and finding common ground, to my service on Kelowna City Council. 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: After speaking with many Kelowna residents and asking this question, I hear three priorities again and again: 1. Growth that keeps pace Kelowna is growing, but our roads, utilities, parks, and public services need to keep up. Council must plan carefully, make responsible land use decisions, and ensure growth does not put pressure on our neighbourhoods. 2. Safe neighbourhoods People want to feel safe where they live, work, and play. Council should listen to residents, support community partnerships and crime prevention efforts, and work with others to address homelessness, addiction, and disorder. I don't pretend to have all the answers, but residents have experience and ideas, and we need to listen to those directly affected. 3. Responsible management of public money Residents work hard for their money and expect the City to do the same. Council must focus on essential services, make wise decisions, and be accountable for every taxpayer dollar. 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: I would provide regular updates on Council decisions, upcoming issues, major projects and changes that affect residents. I would share information through social media, email and community meetings, and make time to speak directly with residents at community events and other local gatherings. When an important issue is before Council, I would explain what is being considered, when the decision will be made, and where residents can find more information or provide input. 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: My most relevant affiliations are 12 years as an elected School Trustee with Central Okanagan Public Schools and nine years serving on the Glenmore-Ellison Improvement District Board. These experiences have given me a strong understanding of public governance, financial oversight and working with different perspectives. I have also volunteered with local not-for-profit organizations supporting youth, mentorship and theatre. I continue to participate in mentorship, supporting younger women in their personal and professional growth. 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: Conditional / Depends Explanation: Yes, where it can be done responsibly. Reducing DCCs can help lower the cost of building new homes, but the City must ensure taxpayers are not left paying for infrastructure required by new development. 3. Restrictions on short-term rentals should be loosened. Answer: Conditional / Depends Explanation: We need to look at what is working, what isn't, and how the current restrictions are affecting housing, tourism and neighbourhoods before deciding whether further changes are needed. 4. The City should pursue expanded public transit service. Answer: Conditional / Depends Explanation: Yes, where there is a clear need. As Kelowna grows, we need to look at where transit service is lacking and expand it where it will make the biggest difference for residents, while being mindful of the cost to taxpayers. 5. Infrastructure and service capacity should be ready before major additional growth is approved. Answer: Conditional / Depends Explanation: Yes, roads, water, sewer, fire protection and other essential services must be able to support new growth, not necessarily "ready" and in place prior to approval. However, there needs to be a credible plan and capacity to support it. 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: Conditional / Depends Explanation: It depends. I support using the Audit Committee and doing operational reviews where they are needed to make sure City spending is efficient and taxpayers are getting good value for their money. I would want to understand the rationale and expected benefit before supporting additional audits or reviews. 9. The City should make individual councillors’ voting records easier to find and search. Answer: Conditional / Depends Explanation: I support making Council decisions and voting records accessible, but I would want to understand the cost and how the information would be presented before deciding whether a separate searchable system is necessary. 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: Conditional / Depends Explanation: Yes, I would have supported studying the options and preparing for a possible referendum. Residents should have the opportunity to understand the advantages and disadvantages of at-large, ward or hybrid representation before making a decision. I would want to see the results of that work and hear from Kelowna residents before taking a final position. 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: Conditional / Depends Explanation: I would want to review the full application, staff recommendations and public input before deciding. Since second and third readings move a proposal forward but are not final approval, I would want to understand the impact on surrounding residents, green space, infrastructure and the broader community before supporting it. 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: Conditional / Depends Explanation: That depends. I would want to understand what alternatives were considered to reduce the tax increase, what spending could be deferred or reduced, and what services would be affected before supporting a 4.4% increase. Essential services and infrastructure need to be funded, but I believe taxpayers should be the last resort after other options have been considered. 13. The City should help expand co-operative housing and community land trusts. Answer: Conditional / Depends Explanation: I support looking at ways to expand affordable housing, including co-operative housing and community land trusts, but I would want to understand the cost to taxpayers, how these models would work and what role the City should play before committing to additional support. 14. The City should strengthen protections for tenants displaced by redevelopment or renovations. Answer: Conditional / Depends Explanation: I support reasonable protections for tenants facing displacement, but I would want to understand how the current protections are working before adding more requirements. We need to protect renters while still allowing needed housing and redevelopment to move forward. 15. The City should allow more small shops and cafés within residential neighbourhoods. Answer: Conditional / Depends Explanation: Yes, with some reasonable limits. I'd support making it easier for small, locally owned shops and cafes to open in neighbourhoods, as long as they fit the area and don't create significant problems with traffic, parking, noise or nearby residents. 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: Conditional / Depends Explanation: Yes, we should have more clean, safe public washrooms in areas where they are needed. It won't solve homelessness, but it's a practical, basic service that can make a difference for people who are living outside and for the community as a whole. 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: Yes / Support 23. The City should limit annual property-tax increases to inflation. Answer: Conditional / Depends Explanation: It depends. I would like to keep property tax increases as low and predictable as possible, but I don't think an inflation-only limit should be absolute. We need to look at the services required, infrastructure needs and what savings or efficiencies can be found before increasing taxes. 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: Conditional / Depends Explanation: Having served on the SD23 School Board with a partial ward system, I see strengths in both approaches. At-large representation encourages councilors to look at the needs of the whole city, while wards give residents a clear local representative. As Kelowna grows, I'd be open to reviewing both options, including a possible hybrid system, and listening to residents before deciding what provides the best representation and accountability. AFFORDABILITY AND ADDITIONAL COMMENTS Which actions would you prioritize to make housing more affordable in Kelowna? Answer: "Speed up and simplify housing approvals, Allow more housing in areas with infrastructure and services, Reduce development fees, with a plan to fund infrastructure" Beyond housing, which actions would you prioritize to make everyday life more affordable in Kelowna? Answer: "Review municipal spending to limit taxes and fees, Support local jobs and business opportunities, Expand affordable public transit" What important issue did we miss? Add any policy position, clarification or response to the existing guide that you want voters to consider. Answer: Kelowna has been my home for 34 years. It's where my family has built our life, where I've invested my time and where I've had the privilege of serving my community. I was elected School Trustee in 2014, 2018 and 2022, serving 12 years, and elected to the Glenmore-Ellison Improvement District Board in 2015, 2018 and 2021, serving 9 years. I'm running for City Council because I care deeply about Kelowna's future and want to continue giving back. I'm not running to simply have a seat at the table. I'm running to bring the experience I've gained through many years of public service, listening carefully, asking the hard questions, and am ready to do the work and make thoughtful decisions on behalf of Kelowna residents. SUPPORTING MATERIAL A supporting upload was supplied separately and has not been used to establish the positions transcribed above. Its private link is 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.