Submitted questionnaire

Les Bellamy

Owner - Bellamy Homes

This is the candidate’s public questionnaire. It is not a ForChange recommendation. Committee recommendations will be published after the review is complete.

1. 01 · Why are you running for Kelowna City Council?

   I moved to Kelowna when I was 19, and this community gave me opportunities I could never have imagined. I built my business here, met my wife here, and we've now been married for 28 years. Kelowna isn't just where I live. It's where I've built my life.

   I'm now at a point in my career where I can step back a little from business and step up for the community. For much of my career I've made decisions involving millions of dollars, and getting those decisions wrong could literally cost me my business or even my home. That level of personal risk taught me to ask better questions, understand what can go wrong, and think carefully before making a decision.

   Kelowna is growing quickly. Decisions about housing, infrastructure, public safety and taxpayers' money will shape the city we become.

   I don't believe one councillor can come in with a list of promises and simply make them happen. There are nine people around that table. What I can promise is how I'll approach the job. I will ask questions, listen, challenge assumptions, work with people who disagree with me, and make decisions based on the best information available. At the end of the day, I am accountable for those decisions.

2. 02 · Issue #1: the issue, the specific actions you would take, and how City Council can actually influence the outcome.

   In speaking with over 750 residents so far, public safety and disorder has overwhelmingly been the issue raised most often. People are frustrated, and I share that frustration. What we're doing today is clearly not working well enough.

   Council doesn't control health care, the courts or provincial drug policy, but that can't become an excuse for accepting the consequences. Kelowna needs to push senior governments for changes when their policies aren't working on our streets.

   Locally, I believe laws and bylaws should be applied equally. We should offer support, but compassion cannot mean accepting open drug use or persistent public disorder that prevents residents from safely using our community.

   I support stronger enforcement where necessary, better coordination with support services and more assertive advocacy to the Province for change.

3. 03 · Issue #2: the issue, the specific actions you would take, and how City Council can actually influence the outcome.

   Housing

   Kelowna has added a lot of housing, but it's still unaffordable. We need more supply, but I also think we need to spend more time asking why housing costs so much to build in the first place.

   Land, labour, materials and financing are a big part of the cost, but so are development charges, building requirements and approval timelines. Council can't control all of those things, but it can take a hard look at the ones it does.

   I support a variety of housing, but I also want us looking for reasonable ways to reduce the cost of creating it. Growth should contribute to the infrastructure it requires, but I'd like to explore whether all of those costs need to be collected upfront.

   However, affordability isn't just about housing costs. It's also about what people earn. If we can attract more high-paying jobs to Kelowna, that has to be part of the affordability conversation too.

4. 04 · Issue #3: the issue, the specific actions you would take, and how City Council can actually influence the outcome.

   Responsible Growth and Infrastructure

   Kelowna is going to keep growing, and our infrastructure and services need to keep up.

   Traffic is already a major frustration, but it's only part of the issue. Roads, water, sewer, parks, recreation facilities and emergency services all need to support a growing city.

   I support well-planned density and a diverse housing mix, but we shouldn't simply add more people to an area and figure out the infrastructure later. Land-use decisions, infrastructure planning and capital spending need to work together.

   We also can't build everything at once. That means making difficult choices about what comes first and being honest about what gets delayed as a result.

   If we fail to plan, we are planning to fail. The decisions we make today need to consider whether what we create today will still work 20 or 30 years from now.

5. 05 · What experience, skills, and community involvement do you bring to the role?

   My working life in Kelowna started in the restaurant industry. I later became involved in music and spent about 20 years playing in a band, while also building my career in construction. I've worked in construction since 1992 and have been self-employed since 1997.

   For roughly the first 15 years, I wore a tool belt. I packed lumber, banged nails and poured concrete. Over the years I moved from working on the tools to running projects and managing a business, eventually becoming one of the most highly awarded builders in B.C.

   My career has taught me to manage budgets, negotiate, solve problems and make difficult decisions. I've also made plenty of mistakes. I own them, learn from them, ask for advice when I need it and pivot when something isn't working.

   I've served on industry boards and committees, volunteered with non-profits and charities, supported community organizations and mentored others. My civic advocacy includes working with the Kelowna Legacy Group to protect publicly owned land in the Cultural District, and petitioning the City to protect parkland while still advocating for a new Performing Arts Centre.

6. 06 · How will you approach council decisions when priorities compete for limited resources?

   I've dealt with competing priorities and limited resources throughout my career. There is rarely enough time, money or people to do everything you would like to do, so I've learned that saying yes to one thing often means saying no, or not yet, to something else.

   I start by trying to understand what problem we're actually trying to solve. Then I look at the cost, both now and in the future, what we're trying to achieve, how we'll know if it worked, and what we may have to give up or delay by choosing it.

   I've also learned that the cheapest option isn't necessarily the best option, and not everything of value can be measured in dollars. Sometimes spending more today prevents a much larger cost later. Other times the better decision may improve quality, reduce risk or solve a problem more permanently.

   When there isn't an obvious answer, I gather as much information as I reasonably can, ask questions and seek advice from people who know more about the issue than I do. Eventually I must make a decision. I've spent much of my career doing exactly that, knowing I won't always get it right and being prepared to adjust when I don't.

7. 07 · How do you work with people who see an issue differently than you?

   I've never had a problem being around people who disagree with me. Some of my closest friends and professional relationships are with people I disagree with regularly. I actually enjoy a good debate, as long as we can disagree with the idea without making it personal.

   When someone sees an issue differently than I do, my first instinct is usually to ask them to walk me through it. I want to understand how they got to their position and what information or experience they're basing it on. Sometimes that strengthens my position, sometimes it changes it, and sometimes we simply continue to disagree.

   I've served on boards with strong personalities and very different opinions. I've learned that leadership isn't about winning every argument. You make your case, listen to everyone else's, look for common ground, and then the group makes a decision. If the decision doesn't go my way, I can accept that and continue working with the same people the next day.

   I also separate the person from the issue. Someone can disagree strongly with me or criticize an idea I've put forward, and that doesn't mean we can't have a productive relationship.

8. 08 · What else should voters know about you?

   I haven't made a lot of campaign promises, and that's intentional. One councillor is one vote out of nine, and I don't think it's honest to promise outcomes I can't deliver on my own.

   What I can tell voters is what they can expect from me. I'll do my homework. I'll ask questions. I'll listen to people who know more about an issue than I do, and I'll be willing to change my mind when the facts support it. I won't agree with everyone, and I don't expect everyone to agree with me.

   I'm not running because I believe I have all the answers. I'm running because I care deeply about this community and believe I have experience that can contribute to the decisions we're going to face over the next four years.

   If I'm elected, I'll get some decisions right and I'll probably get some wrong. When I'm wrong, I'll own it. What voters should always be able to expect from me is that I'll explain why I made a decision, take responsibility for my vote and never forget whose money I am spending.

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