Kraft to run as an Independent candidate

Photo: Contributed

Kevin Kraft is running as an Independent.

Another independent has announced their candidacy for an Okanagan riding.

Kevin Kraft, vice-chair of the Regional District of Central Okanagan announced Wednesday he'd be running as an independent for the new riding of Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream.

In a press release Kraft said he decided to run out of a "commitment to offer a voice that truly reflects the values and needs of the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream communities and a promise to represent his community where he can best serve."

“Traditional party lines often fall short in addressing our specific concerns,” Kraft said in the release. “By running independently, I can focus solely on the best interests of our communities without the constraints of party politics.”

Kraft, whose statement referred to himself as a CPC nominee hopeful, said the current candidates have been appointed without a true nomination process, depriving residents of a genuine local choice.

“This riding encompasses a diverse and rapidly growing region, including major agricultural areas and producers, a large amount of ALR lands, two key high-elevation water reservoirs and valley bottom lakes, wood lots and rural interface areas, and expanding educational institutions such as UBC Okanagan and Okanagan College Vernon,” Kraft said.

“Our community also supports vital sectors like business, tourism, and recreation supported by YLW also situated in the riding. It would be challenging to consider candidates who lack government experience and are not strongly rooted in the communities they may be tasked to represent.”

He is both an alumnus of UBC and OC and was an employee on the UBCO Campus for eight years.

He is a current teacher in School District 23 and served as a community firefighter for eight years prior to becoming a local elected official.

Kraft said he is committed to addressing key issues such as Agriculture, Wildlife Management, Wildfire Management, Freshwater Management, and the Forestry Industry.

Anna Warwick Sears has been nominated as the BC NDP candidate in Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream. Warwick Sears has spent her career fighting to protect and preserve the Okanagan’s lakes and rivers as the Executive Director of the Okanagan Basin Water Board.

Tara Armstrong, announced as the BC Conservative Party late last year.

BC United’s former candidate in Kelowna - Lake Country - Coldstream Pavneet Singh won the BC United nomination for the riding in November 2023 but had the rug pulled out from under him by party leader Kevin Falcon’s decision to pull out of the provincial campaign and delist all BCU candidates.