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I’m weary of Tom Dyas’s attacks throwing Kelowna city staff, council, and Mayor Colin Basran under the bus.
To lead a city as mayor, it takes the ability to collaborate and work as a team. It’s not a one-man (or woman) show.
The political opportunism Dyas is demonstrating, making grand postulations about how he’s going to save the day makes me question his ability to grasp the complexity of issues. Furthermore, I question his integrity given his complete disregard for the facts.
Let’s start with the Costco relocation. City staff worked to accommodate Costco with their need for more land. Basran led the charge in this effort. It’s always easy to look from the outside and be a critic, but the audacity of Dyas reaching out to the Costco corporate office is ludicrous. His actions risk discrediting the work that is being done by the city and our sitting mayor.
Secondly, his criticism on what the city has done to tackle homelessness is ridiculous. Perhaps he’s forgotten he was one of 21 people that sat on a task force spearheaded by Basran to create a path forward.
The Journey Home Strategy, which Dyas endorsed, is a ground-breaking initiative created after extensive community consultation with key stakeholders at the table: business owners, developers, Interior Health, RCMP, BC Housing, non-profits, First Nations and those with lived experience, to name a few.
It took incredible vision and leadership by Mayor Basran to convene this effort. It also took a passionate team of city staff and a committed council to make this happen. It was an open and transparent process in which every person in Kelowna was invited to participate. Countless residents played a role.
I’d like to understand how Dyas expects to fix homelessness overnight. We don’t need more discussion. There is a strategy. It’s time to move forward with it. Any other option will take our city backwards.
I am all for a mayoral race – it’s a sign of a healthy democracy when people take the step to put their name forward, but the way Dyas has gone about it so far is shameful.
Nicole Rustad, Kelowna
