Submitted questionnaire
Daniel Gordon Fritter
Magazine Publisher
This is the candidate’s public questionnaire. It is not a ForChange recommendation. The committee’s recommended candidates are published on the Candidates page.
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01 · Why are you running for Kelowna City Council?
I am running because I have two young kids, and I want them to grow up in a city they can be proud to call their own, and that provides them ample opportunity for safe and affordable living, diverse and high-quality options for employment and careers, and a quality of life that can only be found in one of our country's most beautiful regions.
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02 · Issue #1: the issue, the specific actions you would take, and how City Council can actually influence the outcome.
Public Safety.
Kelowna's crime rate is 24% higher than the provincial average and 56% higher than the national average, and among cities with similar or greater populations, has the highest rate of homelessness in the province.
To address these issues, I would undertake two strategies: First, I would act upon the findings of the PricewaterhouseCoopers policing study commissioned by the city and released this past spring, and move that Kelowna begin the process of transitioning to a municipal police force with the intent of having said municipal force online by 2032 - when the existing RCMP contract expires.
Second, I would move that the city significantly increase the number of projects undertaken with BC Housing for supportive and low-income housing. We currently have one on the books for 40 units. Kamloops, by comparison, has six underway, delivering 607 units.
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03 · Issue #2: the issue, the specific actions you would take, and how City Council can actually influence the outcome.
Traffic & Transportation
Congestion in the city is increasing at a rate that outpaces our population growth, increasing by 10% in a single calendar year (2023-2024), the increase mostly taking the form of what the city defines as severe congestion.
To alleviate this, we first need to revise Kelowna's Transportation Master Plan to prioritize the goals that it is (according to the city) failing to meet: Supporting livable communities, enhancing travel affordability, fostering a growing economy, and optimizing travel times. Then we can begin things like removing some lights from Hwy 97, the Clement extension, etc.
Lastly, I would seek partnership with the province to add a sixth lane to the Bennett Bridge for use by an at-grade commuter rail line that would run north up Water St., around Prospera, and east to the city-owned railbed, past UBCO, and finally to the airport.
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04 · Issue #3: the issue, the specific actions you would take, and how City Council can actually influence the outcome.
Jobs & Affordability
Kelowna has the highest unemployment rate among major urban centres in Canada and even worse levels of youth unemployment, in the most expensive province to live.
To drive immediate economic growth, I would look to leverage the increased amount of domestic tourism to aid local industry; a fancy way of saying I would like the city to host large-scale, large-format events that benefit local industry by attracting domestic tourism, like a week-long Wine Festival that could take over downtown, and a Speed Week, potentially hosting air races, automotive events, and a return of the regatta.
I would also seek to increase the amount of commercial square footage available to bring down commercial leasing costs - ideally through more mixed-use commercial-residential development. Kelowna needs to be a place employers can afford to do business in if we're to gain more jobs.
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05 · What experience, skills, and community involvement do you bring to the role?
Professionally, I have extensive experience in the realm of public safety policy. I studied forensic psychology and have covered public safety policy at a national level to such a degree that I was invited to testify before our Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Safety.
Personally, as a former motoring journalist, I recognized the need for road safety advocacy and worked with existing lobbyist groups to improve motorcycle safety in the province before beginning to lobby for those same aims on my own 12 years ago.
I'm also a small business owner, having launched my own publishing company 15 years ago, as well as a specialized industrial cleaning company five years ago. Because both of these businesses operate in highly regulated spaces, I've gained a huge appreciation for what a government can do to stimulate economic growth, as well as what they can do to stifle it.
Finally, within the community, I served as the President of the Joe Rich Sportsman's Association for four years, growing the club from 32 members to nearly 400 and ensuring the club and facility's success and health for years to come.
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06 · How will you approach council decisions when priorities compete for limited resources?
In a word, pragmatically.
In more words, I would first ask my colleagues on council to examine the issues and the proposed solutions independently, to ensure that a proposed measure is being justified on its own merits and probability of success, as opposed to the importance of the issue it seeks to address.
Along the same vein, I would also ask that council consider the impact and proposed value of competing priorities; specifically asking how many residents could be expected to benefit from the proposed options, and what specific value they would derive from it.
I would also ask us to examine whether other avenues could provide the resources we lack, be it either through cuts to another area of our local government deemed to be less crucial than the hypothetical proposals now competing for resources, or through investments by intergovernmental agencies, other levels of government, or more creative solutions (community fundraising, etc.).
Finally, I would consider the possible timelines to see whether moving from parallel to asynchronous spending could deliver similar results, albeit on a longer timeline.
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07 · How do you work with people who see an issue differently than you?
Owning Canada's largest gun magazine, I've some experience with this!
And in my experience, even among entrenched opposing viewpoints, you can often find a shared foundational belief that, once established, gives firmer footing for a more collaborative discussion that is far more likely to have a positive outcome at best, and a better understanding of both sides of an issue at worst.
For example, in my work, I've encountered many people who oppose firearm ownership. I, obviously, disagree. However, the reason why many oppose firearm ownership is that they want Canadians to be safe from harm, which is a perspective I wholeheartedly share. By establishing that we share the same goal; for Canadians to be safe, and merely differ in opinions on how that goal may be best served allows the discussion to be collaborative rather than combative.
Additionally, having been involved in lobbying and working around contentious issues for decades now, I have a tremendous level of respect for the work people will pour into issues they're passionate about, regardless of how much I agree with their particular perspective.
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08 · What else should voters know about you?
Over the last decade, it has felt as if Kelowna, as a city, has gone through transformative, uncontrolled organic changes - changes that have not been adequately addressed or reflected within our local government.
From the rise in unemployment, to the simultaneously unstable and yet somehow still unaffordable housing market, to the increase in crime, to even something as simple as traffic congestion and transportation management, things have changed - broadly for the worse - and City Hall hasn't seemed willing or able to intercede. Making incremental changes to plans drafted five, ten, or 15 years ago is no longer enough to address our community's needs, and re-establishing itself as a clean, safe, and prosperous city that our kids will be proud to call their own will require bold decisions, and swift action.
And that is what I aspire to.