Castanet News is getting to know the candidates running in the upcoming Penticton council by-election.

Watch for a new candidate Q&A each day leading up to the first day of advance voting on March 26.

Interviews have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Bradley Bartsch: Penticton council candidate

Bradley Bartsch is a relative newcomer to Penticton who has put down roots and decided this is the place he wants to make a difference, gleaning skills from his background in the social sector as a charitable fundraiser.

Castanet: Why are you running to be a city councillor?

Bradley Bartsch: It's another opportunity to serve. I was unsuccessful in the provincial election, and I thought I would take advantage of this opportunity.

What I have learned is that residents of Penticton and the businesses want to be listened to by council. They feel like council has done some things that were not necessary. What comes up all the time is bike lanes. So, I want to listen and implement some responsible government.

We have some opportunities here to really grow our tax base, invite some new businesses to Penticton. All they need is the right environment to do that.

C: What is the most pressing local issue that you as a Penticton councillor would want to address, keeping in mind that City Hall only has so much power?

BB: Creating the right environment that welcomes businesses and residents to come make this their home. This is an amazing place, and it doesn't need much to get people to fall in love with it, but it has to be a place they can afford to live, and that is open for business.

But we also have some problems that many other communities are struggling with. One is homelessness, and we have to address that, because it makes everyone feel insecure, not just the ones that are unhoused but those that are living near them.

C: If elected, you would be joining council mid-term. What is one example of a time you have agreed with the current council, and one when you disagreed?

BB: I haven't reviewed every decision they've made, but what I have seen that I don't agree with is that the residents don't feel like they've been consulted. And I know that residents are busy and they have other things going on in their lives, so they're not reviewing every council decision, but I think council can do a better job communicating what they're going to do and what they have done, and I want to be part of that communication loop.

I've agreed with their efforts to build more affordable housing, and I know there's still a long way to go in that regard.

What I don't agree with is just all the kerfuffle that they've caused with bike lanes. I don't see Penticton as a very difficult city to get around on a bike. I was a cyclist and rode from Langley to Vancouver to go to work every day. Penticton is a piece of cake to get around compared to that.

And I haven't met anybody yet who loves the bike lane. Now, I probably haven't asked too many 10-year-olds. I could see, you know, a 10-year-old would love the bike lanes, so they have their own way to get around town from lake to lake.

But I don't think much more money needs to be invested in bike lanes.

C: This is a by-election, so roughly a year and a half term is guaranteed before the scheduled fall 2026 election. Is your plan, if elected, to stick around and run again for a full term?

BB: Yes. When the next general election [arrives in 2026], I'll just have got my first probationary period done. So, you got to learn and to do it well, you can't just do it for a few months and move on.

I've heard from other residents, they don't like the optics that council is a stepping stone to something better. And the benefit I have versus many of the other existing councillors and the other ones running is I don't have another job that competes with it. And I know that there's no prohibition against having another job, but I have no other distractions, right? This will be my only job.

I live here, I want to roll up my sleeves and do something for the benefit of the community.

C: Canada is dealing with a rollercoaster regarding American trade policies. On a local level what, if anything, is Penticton council's role in providing support for local businesses during these uncertain times?

BB: I think there are some things that we can learn from our predecessors. My grandparents, they went through the depression, came out of the war, Russian revolution, and some of the things they did seem like very wise things like having backyard and community gardens, you know, canning their own foods. I think some of these things you'll see more of happening again is people trying to be as self-sufficient as they can.

We're fortunate here. We've got everything we need: sunshine, add a little bit of hard work and some water and, we've got food. So we might have to learn how to do things differently, but we're very blessed here.

Council can encourage it, and by making available, perhaps more land for community gardens. And community gardens are amazing places to meet your neighbours, do something social, especially for people my age. We're not looking for the next pickup hockey game, necessarily, but we can go to the garden, till the soil, weed the garden, encourage things along. That's just one area.

Not giving into the narrative of fear is something council can communicate to the community. There's enough to be afraid of without council repeating that narrative. Too many politicians are using fear to their own benefit, and I just can't agree with that.

C: This election is to fill one available seat on council, previously held by now-MLA Amelia Boultbee, but a second seat sits empty at meetings.

Coun. James Miller has been on mandatory leave from his council duties since August while facing historical criminal charges. He retains his council seat in name and collects his city salary, as per the Local Government Act.

In your opinion should Coun. Miller resign while he deals with his personal situation?

BB: As a fellow taxpayer, I would hope that if anything is preventing you from doing your job at the very best, you would step aside. So I know that the law provides for what he's doing right now, but I think citizens expect a little more than what the letter of the law provides. And that has been asked of me by many residents: What do I think?

I said, well, I want to respect a man in a very difficult thing he's going through, but I know if anything was preventing me from doing the job to the best of my ability, I would make way for somebody else to do it.

So there's a letter, and there's a spirit [of the law], you know? I hope things work out well for him. It's got to be very difficult for him, and I don't know him personally.

C: Pie-in-the-sky question: If the city had $1 million of free money to spend on anything, how would you want to see it spent?

BB: $1 million doesn't go very far these days. I would direct it towards more affordable housing at all levels.

I would probably use that as seed funding to get some housing for those who just can't get into the market,
one of the challenges Penticton faces.

It's very attractive for the wealthy to come here, and they have no shortage of options for what they can live in, but there's not a lot of options for people my children's age who are buying their first home, unless they want to live in condos or apartments.

But, you know, they have children too. They want to have a family home like they had as a kid. So that's where I would look to make sure there's livability for people at all price levels of the housing market, and that's something council can do by encouraging certain developers to come into town, and hopefully not just developers who are going to take their profits and leave, and [instead] actually live here and reinvest those profits. That's where council can play a role.

Advance voting days are March 26 and 27. General voting day is April 5.