Late rush of rural candidates

There were nearly no candidates for the director seat in Area F (West Bench), but now it will the most hotly-contested position in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen on election day next month.

No one had declared candidacy for the rural area on Thursday, but by Friday afternoon's nomination deadline six people had put their names forward — more than any of the regional district's nine rural areas.

No rural director positions, in fact, had more than one person seeking election on Thursday, but by Friday's deadline six areas had multiple candidates.

Four of the eight current RDOS rural directors are seeking another four-year term, and three of those directors will be acclaimed on election day, Oct. 20, as no one is challenging their positions.

Incumbents Mark Pendergraft (Area A, rural Osoyoos), George Bush (Area B, Cawston) and Bob Coyne (Area H, rural Princeton) were the only candidates in their respective areas.

Current board chair Karla Kozakevich (Area E, Naramata) is the fourth incumbent seeking another term.

The candidates running in each rural area, in alphabetical order, are:

Area A (Rural Osoyoos):

• Mark Pendergraft (Incumbent)

Area B (Cawston):

• George Bush (Incumbent)

Area C (Rural Oliver):

• Rick Knodel
• Randy Toor

Area D (OK Falls/ Skaha East):

• Ron Obirek
• Rodney Penway
• Bill Schwarz

Area E (Naramata):

• Tim Hodgkinson
• Karla Kozakevich (Incumbent)

Area F (West Bench):

• Kim Evans
• Riley Gettens
• Rick Hatch
• Ashley Jestin
• Leah Schulting
• Michael Stokker

Area G (Rural Keremeos/ Hedley):

• Melodie Kolisnyk
• Tim Roberts
• Manpreet Uppal

Area H (Rural Princeton):

• Bob Coyne (Incumbent)

Area I (Kaleden/Twin Lakes/St. Andrews/Skaha West):

• Subrina Monteith
• Gary R Vollet

Candidate contact information can be found here.