KELOWNA · CITY COUNCIL · 2026
I’m Todd Daniels. I grew up here, left, travelled, worked, came home and built a business here. When problems started affecting the people around me, I got involved. Eventually I realized that asking for change also meant being willing to help make it.
The story. The work. The ideas. And a direct line to me.
I think Council needs more people who live with the consequences of its decisions.
Owning a downtown business put me face-to-face with crime, addiction, construction, access, parking, rising costs and the gap between a decision made at City Hall and its consequences on the street.
I started speaking publicly. Other business owners, workers and residents started sharing what they were seeing too.
The closer government stays to everyday life, the better its decisions can be.
I care more about whether an idea survives contact with reality than whether it sounds good at a microphone. What does it cost? Who does it affect? What happens next? And after we do it: did it actually work?
HOW I MAKE A DECISION
A city is a system. One choice affects something else. I want to know the cost, the trade-offs, what could go wrong and how we will know if it worked.
NO YES-PEOPLE REQUIRED
If my idea is weak, challenge it. If I’m missing something, show me. I would rather change my mind because the facts changed than defend a bad decision because my name is attached to it.
Council should argue the merits, understand the consequences and then make the call. What I have no patience for is political theatre: another meeting, another announcement, another task force that never gets to the task.
Less theatre. More work.
02 / THE WORK
My public advocacy came first. The candidacy came later.
JANUARY 2026
The broken window was one part of a bigger problem downtown: theft, violence, intimidation and staff safety. One of our staff had been bear-sprayed outside the shop only weeks earlier.
THE VIDEO · WITH SOUND
The point wasn’t one broken window. It was what the people working downtown were experiencing every day: and the need to deal with both safety and the reasons people end up in crisis.
THE FOLLOW-UP · WITH SOUND
The first video started a much bigger conversation. I came back to thank people, respond to what I was hearing and keep the focus on what downtown businesses and residents were actually dealing with.
SUMMER 2026 · WITH SOUND
We pushed for better communication and access, promoted neighbouring businesses and reminded people downtown was still open.
DOING THE WORK
I put together a Downtown Kelowna 24/7 Safety & Recovery Plan focused on continuous presence, repeat offenders, rapid repair, coordinated outreach and measurable results.
Read the 10-point planTAKING IT TO CITY HALL · WITH SOUND
Speaking online was only part of it. I also took the concerns I was hearing into the rooms where decisions are made.
COMMUNITY IS PERSONAL
Before dementia, my mom had a full life. She was a nurse, a mother, and someone with her own history, humour and opinions.
As dementia progressed, I took her for drives every second day. Even when the world became harder for her to understand, being together still mattered.
It changed how I think about seniors, isolation and the people a community can too easily overlook.
A person’s value doesn’t disappear because they need us more.
Housing affects transportation. Transportation affects business. Growth affects infrastructure. Public safety affects tourism and downtown. Spending on one thing changes what is possible somewhere else. Too often those decisions are treated separately. I want the right hand to know what the left hand is doing.
Protect public spaces while creating real paths to treatment, housing and appropriate help.
Housing, roads, water, services, parking and neighbourhood impacts belong in the same conversation.
Show the need, total cost, trade-offs, who benefits and how success will be measured.
Safety, access, parking, events, business mix, construction planning and public spaces all matter.
Measure prosperity by jobs, wages, business survival and whether people can afford to stay here.
Young people need a voice and reasons to stay. Seniors need access, connection, dignity and places to belong.
ISSUE BY ISSUE
My view is only the beginning. I want to know what connects to it, what the evidence says, what it costs, and what else changes when we act.
People in crisis need a real route to treatment, housing and support. People living and working in Kelowna also have a right to use public spaces without repeat theft, violence or intimidation.
Which agency owns each part of the response? Where are people falling through the cracks? What are we spending now, and which results are actually getting better?
Clearer coordination between police, bylaw, outreach, health, housing and nonprofits; understandable rules for public spaces; and reporting that separates repeat incidents, response times and actual outcomes.
Kelowna needs different kinds of homes at different prices. But approving units is only one part of the job. Roads, water, parking, transit, schools, parks and neighbourhood capacity have to be part of the same decision.
What type of housing is actually scarce today? Where is it needed? What is already approved or under construction? And what public infrastructure will the growth require?
Track housing by price, size, tenure and location; review incentives against current vacancy and affordability; and connect growth approvals to the capacity of the services around them.
Being careful with public money does not mean automatically cutting services. It means knowing what problem we are solving, what the full bill will be and what other priority gets delayed when we say yes.
What was the original estimate? What changed? What will it cost to operate and maintain? Who benefits? What is the measurable result?
A simple public trail for major projects: original promise, approved budget, scope changes, final cost, delays and the result residents were supposed to receive.
People drive, bike, walk and use transit. Seniors, students, workers, tourists and businesses do not all move through the city the same way. Planning has to work in the real world.
What problem is the investment solving? How many people will it serve? Will access actually improve? What happens to congestion, parking, safety and operating costs?
Plan transportation and land use together, protect practical access to key destinations, and measure whether trips become safer and more reliable instead of counting infrastructure for its own sake.
A healthy downtown works for residents, employees, independent businesses, visitors, seniors and people using services. Safety, access and basic confidence matter every day.
Are construction, parking, safety, public space, service delivery and City communication making it easier or harder for people to use downtown?
Earlier construction coordination, clear access plans, consistent service standards, stronger downtown promotion and practical help when City projects create serious disruption for local businesses.
We cannot control every ignition or wind event. We can control how prepared we are for wildfire, evacuation, water disruption and pressure on essential services.
Where is the highest risk? What protects life first? Where are response gaps? Which investments reduce risk the most for the money?
Interface mitigation, rapid detection and response, clear evacuation communication, protection of drinking and agricultural water, and regional coordination where it improves response.
Tourism supports hotels, restaurants, retail, attractions and events. It should also support a city that residents can afford to live in and businesses can operate in year-round.
What public money or staff time is going in? What result should come back? Are we building shoulder-season demand and preparing for smoke, wildfire and other disruptions?
Measure results, support year-round visitation, improve access to commercial areas and make sure tourism strategy strengthens local businesses instead of simply producing activity.
Music, skateboarding, art, outdoor recreation, mentorship and places to gather all build community. Young people deserve more than places to spend money.
Which neighbourhoods and age groups are missing affordable places to gather, play, create and participate?
Bring youth into planning, support a broader mix of recreation and culture, improve gathering spaces and measure who is actually using the programs we fund.
Mobility, isolation, affordability, accessible transportation and places to gather become more important with age. Dignity and independence should be part of how we design the city.
Can seniors and people with disabilities actually reach shopping, health care, recreation and social connection without unnecessary barriers?
Test access from the user’s point of view, not only against a checklist, and fix obvious gaps in transportation, public spaces and places for social connection.
Parks, arts, music and recreation help make a city worth living in. Major investments still need a clear need, a full cost and an operating plan that makes sense over time.
Where are the real gaps? Who will use the project? What will it cost over its life? What does funding it postpone somewhere else?
Map neighbourhood access and deficiencies, support a broad range of culture and recreation, and make long-term capital priorities clear before the ribbon-cutting stage.
YOU CAN CHANGE MY MIND
Changing your mind because you learned something is not weakness. Refusing to change it because you are worried about looking wrong is.
I want to hear from people who agree with me, people who don’t, and people who know something I don’t.
TELL ME WHAT I’M MISSINGThis isn’t a résumé. These are some of the experiences that shaped how I think.
I moved here at seven, grew up in Glenmore and the Lower Mission, and went to Dorothea Walker and OKM. This is home before it was ever politics.
Skateboarding gave me friends, independence and a culture built by people making something for themselves. The original Island Snow on Pandosy was part of that world.
Snowboarding took me well beyond Kelowna. I competed professionally, worked in the industry and learned what it means to take a risk, commit to it and keep moving when the plan changes.
Work and travel took me through India, Nepal and Thailand, including time in Buddhist monasteries. Seeing other ways of living made me less certain that the familiar way is always the best way.
Long seasons alone at a remote Alberta fire lookout meant watching conditions, spotting small changes before they became big ones, and making decisions without an audience. Patience mattered. So did judgment.
Building an independent business downtown turned municipal decisions into everyday reality: access, safety, construction, tourism, labour, rent, parking and whether people actually want to come downtown.
FROM THE ARCHIVE · KELOWNANOW, AUGUST 2024 →THE RECORD
There was a public record before there was a campaign. News coverage, original videos and documents are here so you can check the story for yourself.
JANUARY 2026
This is the independent record of what followed. Not every article is here. These are the pieces that help establish the sequence.
I didn’t decide to run and then go looking for issues.
The issues are what eventually pushed me toward running.WHY THIS IS HERE
Being on television does not make someone ready for Council. What matters is whether the record matches the story: what happened, what I said, what I proposed and what happened next.
ASK ME FOR A SOURCE →KELOWNA VOTES 2026
Voting should be straightforward. Pick the day and location that work for you, bring your ID, and have your say.
The City of Kelowna is the official source for voting dates, locations and requirements.
Advance voting is available at selected locations across Kelowna. Most polls are open 8 a.m.–8 p.m.; campus locations close at 6 p.m.
FIND A VOTING LOCATION →Vote from 8 a.m.–8 p.m. at any of Kelowna’s general voting locations. You are not limited to a neighbourhood polling station.
WHERE TO VOTE →Request delivery by Sept. 29 or request a ballot for pickup by Oct. 13. Completed ballots must be received by 8 p.m. Oct. 17.
REQUEST A MAIL BALLOT →GENERAL VOTING LOCATIONS
On October 17, Kelowna has 13 general voting locations. Use the City’s live map for addresses, directions and current details.
OPEN THE CITY VOTING MAPNEED HELP VOTING?
All City voting locations are accessible. Curbside voting and on-site assistance are available, and a voter assist terminal is available at Parkinson Recreation Centre.
OFFICIAL VOTER INFORMATION →THIS IS YOUR CITY TOO
I want to hear from people who agree with me, people who don’t, and people who know something I don’t.