Tom Dias UPDATE: 13:15 The gloves are off in the mayoral race in Kelowna. Hours before he’s expected to announce he’s seeking re-election, Mayor Colin Basran hit back at allegations leveled against city hall by challenger Tom Dias over the use of Facebook videos of the mayor. “As mayor, it’s my job to communicate with our residents about the work that’s being done every day to address their concerns,” Basran said, pointing to concerns expressed in the latest citizen survey about social issues, public safety, transportation, housing and affordability. “Knowing how these issues are addressed through video is responsible and transparent. “Video is increasingly being used by governments at all levels as an effective way to inform citizens, and I will make no apologies for constantly striving to do a better job of communicating with our citizens.” Controversy has been swirling around city hall since a series of videos featuring the mayor on several topics began appearing on the city’s social media sites. Dyas claims the number of videos featuring the mayor has increased dramatically in recent months leading up to the election campaign. Basran responded, saying that as the representative of the city, the mayor is regularly the face of communication on all types of social and traditional media platforms. He says he’s been constantly on video throughout the four-year period, calling the charges that have mounted in recent months not real. “As this term comes to an end, I also feel it is appropriate to let our residents know what has been achieved over the last four years on their behalf. “If a mayoral candidate chooses to inform our residents on only a small number of issues when we provide a diverse and wide range of services that positively impact Kelowna residents every day, that is his choice. “My goal is an informed community. But given how thin his campaign platform is so far in his campaign, he probably won’t have much to say about your top priorities. This is just another attempt to draw attention away from that .” ORIGINAL 11:30 AM Kelowna mayoral candidate Tom Dias is crying foul over what he calls the misuse of taxpayer dollars in a video featuring the incumbent mayor. In a press release, the Dyas campaign says it analyzed how often the city ran Facebook ads from February 2020 to July of this year. According to the release, the city ran 18 ads from February 2020 to May 2022. Of those, only three featured Mayor Colin Bashran. In June and July of this year before the election campaign, five of the seven ads featuring the mayor were promoted by the city on its Facebook page. “I am concerned that the city of Kelowna used taxpayer dollars to promote the mayor in the run-up to the municipal election,” Dyas said. “The fact that the city paid for more ads with the mayor in June and July than in the last two and a half years combined is deeply troubling. “The taxpayers of Kelowna deserve to have their hard earned money respected and used for the betterment of our community not to promote the image and personality of their mayor.” The campaign claims the city spent more than $74,000 to create outdoor videos. Dias says if elected mayor on Oct. 15, he will ban any city advertising that isn’t related to public safety, community involvement and consultation, or what’s required by law. “I will be running to be the next mayor of Kelowna because I see many of the critical issues facing our city not being addressed, not because I want to boost my own image or celebrity in our community.” In response to criticism of Facebook ads earlier this summer, Basran said he was responding to concerns raised by the latest resident survey and would continue to address concerns until his term ends. “I am still the mayor last time I checked and I will continue to be the mayor even after the election date,” Basran told Castanet News. “I will continue to do everything I can to address the issues and concerns of our residents as I would at any other time. That is exactly what is happening here.”
