Your opinion?

[koivu11]

teresa , your experince sounds horrific. trapped in one of the rings of hell as it were.

i had heard rumblings that walter gray was there .(disguised as santa claus promising high paying jobs, end to homelessness, world peace, lower taxes and better transit, )

purposely avoided the event because of his prescence , but that being said did not know that he had brought his four little elves with him . did they do a little song and dance every half hour, or help wrap presents ???

if not the they like walter himself continue to be a waste of time and energy . i voted for your husband last time around and will proundly vote for him on november 19th , he has more insight and integrity than the above five combined .

again i am very sorry for what you both have had to endure to this point , but i promise that on november 20th kelowna will remain in capable hands .

works out well since walter and the little elves will be in demand over the holidays !!!!

[richardtaylor1973]

First up - Teresa - thanks for sharing your story. I have great respect for Charlie as a hard working councilor. We don't see eye to eye on policy, but I'd never question his intentions or work ethic.

Truth be told, for various reasons, I agree with Fourchange in that there is a need for change on council. As a small business owner, whose business only does well when others businesses are doing well, I need to know which way this city is going.

Is Kelowna to be considered a 'young' city with lots of growth still to happen or is it to be considered semi-retired. Is our planning to be conducted by visionaries who will keep the city growing towards stature, or is it to be conducted by a committee of 110,000 and be a bland, beige average that offends nobody but has no heart or soul. Are we to be Mac, or PC?

If it's the former - great, I'm on board. If it's the latter, so be it, I'll pack my bags and look to make a living elsewhere.

What we can't have is more of the last 3 years - delay, distraction, indecisiveness, flip-flopping.

That frustration is everywhere. The massive increase in advanced poll voting is indicative of change.

Just wondering about your observations and opinions on FourChange and their picks for council at this point in the game ?

All the previous responses to this question appear to be just the same angry (often anonymous) voices shouting in here what they have already shouted elsewhere, so I'll try to bring some new perspective.

On the organization - I see frustrated business owners trying to guide and influence others. That doesn't make them evil. It's the way politics works. It's what all candidates and their supporters do.

They've done themselves no favors at all with their branding and the way they have handled media. While they have never directly named the four they want to see ousted (and I have checked this very carefully - it has only ever been implied) their name, their brand was always going to antagonize. Add to that the media connection - Frost/Castanet and you were always going to get a backlash.

In balance I see a solid, genuine group of business owners with an open agenda - bringing in a council that will focus on economic growth first and foremost. This aligns with my own politics. A city can handle its social issues a lot easier when it has a strong tax base. It is an overtly Canadian trait to be socially conscious - but people act on that a lot more when they have $ in their own pocket.

Regarding the candidates:

Zimmerman - solid. Chosen for strong public sector leadership experience and values.
Given - solid public and business experience. Ignore the SHAMEFUL comment from 'EdCase' earlier. I have 'Some retail experience' - I worked in a wine store, a record store and a clothing store. Here is Gail's experience:

School Trustee, 3 years
Store Manager, The Bay, 4 years (Assistant Mgr/Sales Mgr, 21 years)
Finance and Legal Committee SD23, 5 years (Chair for past 2 years)
SD23 Bargaining Committee
Human Resources and Staff Services Committee
Planning and Facilities Committee
General Affairs Committee
Superintendent Evaluation Committee
Central Community Advisory Group
2010 Honorary Chair of Canadian Cancer Society “Gala of Hope”
Past Member at Large –COPAC (Central Okanagan Parent Advisory Council)
Past PAC President Bankhead Elementary and Dr. Knox Middle School

Gran - solid political experience. Has a record of standing up to Mayor Shepherd, which was sorely missed in last 3 years.

Basran - my favorite candidate by a long way. Young, energetic, talks sense, knows his stuff, principled, open, zero BS. Won't catch him getting bogged down with backyard chickens, bunny rabbits, balloons and birthdays.

OK... will now wait for all the forum trolls to spout their negativity and conspiracy theories...

[Black Daisies]

OK... will now wait for all the forum trolls to spout their negativity and conspiracy theories...

Well....isn't that a typical opinion of a Walter and FourChange group member! If we don't agree with you, we're Trolls or against business or development.....

As for Walter and the group attending the Christmas Fair, that's low and classless and sleazy!! I agree with Theresa, there are places that should be off-limits. It will be a sad day for Kelowna if Walter gets elected.

[Mtn Biker]

OK... will now wait for all the forum trolls to spout their negativity and conspiracy theories...

Well....isn't that a typical opinion of a Walter and FourChange group member! If we don't agree with you, we're Trolls or against business or development.....

As for Walter and the group attending the Christmas Fair, that's low and classless and sleazy!! I agree with Theresa, there are places that should be off-limits. It will be a sad day for Kelowna if Walter gets elected.

Please read this richardtaylor . . . because Black Daisies nailed it. You're proposing a group of business people joined together, advocate their power to remove certain councilors and replace them with their chosen four. This stinks so bad to me my stomach turns. I don't believe that any person receiving financial assistance to run a campaign isn't beholding to the person putting up the cash. Therefore there will have to be a reckoning at some time, and that is what taints the whole thing. No can’t agree because I see fourgreed . . . is just that . . . *bleep* off business owners trying to effect change by telling us Kelowna isn’t business friendly, when we know that isn’t true. Maybe not for your business, but I am doing just great thanks.

[Ardshael]

Teresa, that is a sad story but not very surprising. My wife is an artist and attended the Christmas Craft fair for a few years. Since the current organizer took over, it seems that the fair has gone downhill fast. My wife hasn't attend after the first year it change hands and doesn't plan to again. It used to be such a great fair but I can see from your story that it should probably either just die or change hands. I'm very glad that we didn't go this year now and when my wife hears what happened, I'm sure she'll be very glad too. (I can't help but shake my head as I write this...)

[justlooking4work]

They had a major lack of vendors this year and would imagine they much appreciated the business to keep the tradition going.

[Fancy]

I just wanted to say that FourChange and their gang may be wealthy and arrogant but Charlie has two things they will never have and that's the citizens of Kelowna's best interests at heart and "Class"

And that also smacks to me of the flip side. To say that the newcomers don't have Kelowna's interests at heart could very well be just one opinion and doesn't speak of class at all. Get to know those that are running instead of listening to all the hype.

[richardtaylor1973]

Well....isn't that a typical opinion of a Walter and FourChange group member!

WRONG! I have specifically stated before that I am neutral on the mayorship (although I reserve my right to change my mind). I am also NOT a Fourchange group member. They are listed on their website. See my name? No? Thought not. Please get your facts right - especially when labelling people.

If we don't agree with you, we're Trolls or against business or development.....

Don't take things so personally. There are a number of people on this forum that fit the definition of 'Internet Troll' (including, for example, being way more concerned with attacking people's responses to posted questions than actually answering posted questions themselves). I didn't see you as being one of them - but you're doing a pretty good impression with that response.

Please read this richardtaylor . . .

Nothing would give me more pleasure May I also respond?

because Black Daisies nailed it

Wrong - he/she got basic facts wrong as outlined above. Far from nailing it. In fact, the complete opposite.

You're proposing a group of business people joined together, advocate their power to remove certain councilors and replace them with their chosen four.

Nope. I've not proposed anything, I just answered somebody's question. I'm not expecting everyone to agree with my answer to it, and that's fine - I'm OK with that. But why don't you just answer the original question instead of attacking my answer? Are you not OK with people having a different opinion to your own? Sure I could jump on the forum bandwagon and bash Fourchange - they've made themselves an easy target through terrible communications and brand management - but I think they get a bad rap in here, little of it evidence based, and I tend to stick up for those being bullied.

... by telling us Kelowna isn’t business friendly, when we know that isn’t true

Depends how you define 'Kelowna' - the population is very entrepreneurial. Many of those entrepreneurs have to be entrepreneurial as there are no jobs in their field. But for each entrepreneur that starts a business here there is someone (probably more than one) that leaves to find work.

Regarding City Hall (which is what we are really talking about) a recent report gave Kelowna a pathetic 5% (if my memory serves me correct at 4.30am) for municipal awareness of business. So when you say 'that isn’t true' you're actually 100% wrong. It is true, and we know it is true.

Maybe not for your business, but I am doing just great thanks.

Good stuff. My company had a great year too. But hey, it's not just about us. Or is it?