Tell us a bit about yourself and why you are running in this election.

I’m Randy Millis, a multimedia journalist, advocate and longtime Kelowna resident. My background includes journalism, radio, information technology, community and shelter support work, and approximately ten years running my own small consulting business.

I’m running for Kelowna City Council because I believe local government should listen carefully, communicate clearly, examine the evidence and remain accountable to the people it serves. I want to work toward a Kelowna people can afford, access and belong in, with a practical focus on housing and affordability, accessibility, preventing homelessness, community resilience and accountable local government.

If you feel comfortable sharing, what is your faith background, religious tradition, or philosophical worldview, for example: Christian, Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, secular, or another worldview?

I’m agnostic, with some influence from Indigenous spirituality. I believe we should love and respect one another, make space for each other’s unique experiences, views and opinions, and respect the land and nature we all depend on.

I try not to judge people for how they live, what they believe or where they come from. My approach is essentially live and let live, treat people with respect, and look for non-confrontational ways to work through our differences. We can disagree without treating each other as enemies.

In public office, I would bring that same respect to people of every faith, culture and worldview, including people with no religious beliefs.

How do your personal values shape your leadership, and what are those values?

My values are honesty, integrity, compassion, empathy and respect. I believe in paying it forward: accepting help when we need it, giving help when we can, and sharing what we have with the people we cross paths with—whether that is food, knowledge, love, care, experience or simply our time.

Those values shape how I would approach leadership. I want to listen before making judgments, treat people with dignity, and understand experiences different from my own. I believe in taking time to calm down, think and listen before speaking rather than jumping to conclusions or reacting in the moment.

Leadership also means being honest about what you know and what you don't know, examining the evidence, and being accountable for the decisions you make. It means admitting when you are wrong, when you have been too harsh, or when new information shows that you need to reconsider your position.

We will not always agree, but disagreement does not prevent us from treating one another with respect, learning from each other and working together to find practical solutions.

How would you balance your personal beliefs with your responsibility to represent all Kelowna residents?

I live with that balance every day. I have my own beliefs and values, but I recognize that they are mine and should not be imposed on someone else.

As a councilor, my responsibility would be to represent all Kelowna residents, including people whose beliefs, experiences and opinions are very different from my own. I would listen to the people affected, consider professional advice, examine the evidence, costs and alternatives, and focus on what City Council can actually do.

I can disagree with someone and still respect them, listen to them and take their concerns seriously. My personal beliefs may help shape who I am, but decisions at City Hall should serve the community as a whole.

How would you like to see city spending prioritized?

City spending should prioritize core municipal responsibilities and services that have a measurable impact on residents’ daily lives.

That includes infrastructure and transportation, attainable and accessible housing, practical accessibility, public safety and emergency preparedness, parks and community facilities, and measures within the City’s jurisdiction that can help prevent homelessness and strengthen neighbourhoods.

For major expenditures, I want Council to clearly explain the need, total and ongoing costs, alternatives considered, expected outcomes and how success will be measured. Spending money or announcing a project is not an outcome by itself. The important question is what residents actually received for that investment.

I also believe Council has to recognize that taxpayers have limited resources. Good ideas still require responsible budgeting, clear priorities and evidence that public money is producing worthwhile results.

What role, if any, do you think City Council should have in setting standards for materials and programming available to minors in city-funded facilities and public libraries?

City Council should first respect the actual jurisdiction and governance structure involved. Kelowna is served by the Okanagan Regional Library, and decisions about library collection policy and materials are governed through the regional library system rather than being something City Council should directly micromanage.

For programming or materials in facilities that are directly under City control, I would expect reasonable, transparent and age-appropriate policies developed with professional input and applied consistently.

I don't believe elected officials should be personally deciding which individual books, viewpoints or ideas people are allowed to access. Where Council legitimately has authority, it should establish fair policy, ensure public resources are being used responsibly, listen to residents and professionals, and respect the rights and responsibilities of families.

What role do you believe parental consent and notification should play when a minor makes personal disclosures or requests support from a school counsellor, and what exceptions, if any, should apply?

This is not a matter within Kelowna City Council's jurisdiction. School counselling, parental notification and related student policies fall under the provincial education system and the elected Board of Education.

As a City Councilor, I would respect those jurisdictional boundaries rather than use municipal office to interfere in decisions assigned to another elected body.

Personally, I believe parents have an important role in their children's lives, while the safety, privacy and individual circumstances of a young person can also matter. Those are complicated issues that deserve careful policy, professional expertise and appropriate legal safeguards rather than a one-size-fits-all answer from City Council.

What steps would you like to see taken to increase transparency and accountability at City Hall?

I would like to see a more open, accessible and accountable approach to City Hall.

Council meetings are already generally open to the public, but being able to attend or watch a meeting is not the same as having a meaningful opportunity to bring an issue before Council. I believe Council should review its procedures with the goal of making it easier for residents to bring legitimate matters within City jurisdiction forward through clear and reasonable channels. There still need to be rules, agendas and reasonable limits so meetings can function effectively, but those procedures should facilitate public participation rather than create unnecessary barriers.

Transparency also means clearly explaining what Council decided, why it made that decision, what it will cost, what alternatives were considered and what results are expected.

Accountability means coming back afterward and showing residents what actually happened. Did the project or policy achieve what Council said it would? Did it stay within its expected cost? If something isn't working, Council should acknowledge that, explain why and be willing to change course.

Residents should be able to understand what their City is doing, why it is doing it, how their money is being spent, what results are being achieved, and have reasonable opportunities to be heard.

What public safety issues are you seeing in Kelowna, and how do you believe these issues should be addressed?

I think the first step is being much clearer about what we mean by "public safety." I hear terms such as crime, social disorder, public disorder, homelessness and perceptions of safety used almost interchangeably, when they can describe very different things.

Before deciding on solutions, I want us to define what we are actually measuring and use consistent terms and evidence. Are we talking about violent or property crime? Theft or vandalism? Public drug use? Human waste? Garbage? Mental-health crises? Encampments? Aggressive behaviour? Traffic and pedestrian safety? Or situations where someone feels uncomfortable or unsafe even though no crime has occurred? Those issues can overlap, but they do not necessarily have the same causes or solutions.

I also don't believe we should frame public safety or disorder primarily as a homelessness problem. A person having no home does not make them dangerous, and people who are housed can also engage in criminal or disruptive behaviour. We should address behaviour and actual conditions rather than make assumptions about people based on their housing status.

Once we understand a particular problem, we should determine what the City can actually do about it. Criminal behaviour and immediate threats require an appropriate response. Bylaws should be enforced where appropriate, and I would look at whether visible foot patrols, cleanup resources and other practical measures could improve public spaces.

Some solutions are also very basic. If garbage is a recurring problem, provide adequate garbage disposal and maintain it. If public urination or defecation is a recurring problem, examine whether there are enough accessible public washrooms, whether they are in the right places and whether they are available when people need them. Providing facilities doesn't mean ignoring deliberate damage or inappropriate behaviour.

Where homelessness, addiction, mental illness or lack of treatment is contributing to a particular problem, we should address those underlying issues too. Moving someone from one block to another may change what is visible without solving anything. The City should work within its jurisdiction on housing stability, homelessness prevention, public spaces, outreach and appropriate enforcement while partnering with and advocating to the Province, health authorities, non-profits and other agencies for services outside municipal responsibility.

Where provincial or federal laws and policies are affecting problems the City cannot directly fix, Council should be prepared to advocate for appropriate changes.

I bring lived experience of housing instability and work around shelters and community support to this issue. That gives me perspective, but it doesn't give me every answer. I want to combine lived experience, residents' concerns, professional advice and reliable evidence before deciding what intervention makes sense.

Ultimately, I don't think "public safety" is one problem with one solution. Define the problem, establish the facts, determine who has jurisdiction, choose an appropriate response, and then measure whether it actually worked.

What do you think can be done locally to bring down the cost of housing?

I don't think City Council can simply bring down the price of housing, and I don't want to pretend there is a simple municipal solution to a problem influenced by land prices, construction costs, interest rates, population growth, the economy and decisions made by other levels of government.

What the City can do is examine the parts of housing cost and availability that are actually within municipal control.

That means making sure our zoning allows the types of housing Kelowna needs, looking for unnecessary delays and costs in the development and permitting process, preserving and expanding rental housing, and examining whether City incentives are actually producing more attainable housing.

I also support using City-owned land strategically. Depending on the project, that could mean retaining the land and partnering with a non-profit, co-op, private developer or another level of government rather than simply selling a public asset. I would also look for opportunities to leverage provincial and federal housing programs and funding.

More housing supply can be part of the answer, but supply and affordability are not automatically the same thing. I want to know what housing is missing, who cannot afford what is available, what barriers are preventing that housing from being built, and which of those barriers the City can realistically change.

I don't have a magic answer for making housing cheap. I do believe Council should use the tools it actually has, measure whether they are producing more attainable and accessible housing, and change course when they aren't working.

What policies would you support to help stimulate Kelowna’s job market?

I approach this much like housing affordability: City Council cannot simply create private-sector jobs by passing a resolution, but it can influence the conditions in which businesses start, invest, expand and hire.

I would start by talking to local businesses, workers, entrepreneurs and industry groups about what is actually preventing businesses from growing or people from finding good employment. Then I would look at which of those barriers are within the City's control.

That could include making City permitting and approval processes efficient and predictable, ensuring there is appropriate land and infrastructure for businesses and employment, supporting local entrepreneurs and small businesses, and making Kelowna an attractive place for new investment without losing sight of the businesses already operating here.

I also think housing, transportation and employment are connected. It is difficult for businesses to attract and retain workers if those workers cannot afford to live here or reliably get to work.

Kelowna is also changing how it delivers economic development services. I would want to examine the new model carefully, establish clear objectives and measure whether public spending on economic development is actually helping existing businesses grow, attracting appropriate new investment and creating employment opportunities for residents.

I don't think there is one policy that creates a strong job market. I would rather identify the actual barriers, determine what the City can influence, work with businesses and other levels of government where appropriate, and measure whether what we are doing is producing results.

What ideas do you have to better balance infrastructure and city growth?

I think balancing infrastructure and growth starts with some detective work.

First, we need a clear picture of what we already have, what condition it is in, how much capacity it has, what we have been maintaining properly and what we may have been neglecting. Then we need to compare that with where Kelowna is growing and what that growth will require.

I couldn't tell you today what condition every sewer line in Rutland is in, how much additional capacity exists in every part of our water and wastewater systems, or what the operators working with that infrastructure every day would identify as their biggest concerns. I would want those answers before pretending I know which projects should come next.

If a system is approaching capacity, then we need to examine the options. Can the existing infrastructure be upgraded? Do we need something new? Where could it physically go? What are the engineering and environmental constraints? What would it cost? What would it cost to connect it to the rest of the system? How would nearby neighbourhoods be affected? How much future growth would it support?

The same approach should apply to roads, sidewalks, transit, water, sewer, drainage, parks, emergency services and other infrastructure.

Growth and infrastructure planning should happen together. I don't think the answer is simply to stop growth or build everything someone might eventually need. We need to understand the condition and capacity of what we have, identify the gaps, forecast future needs, listen to the people who operate and use these systems, examine the costs and alternatives, and make decisions based on evidence.

I don't need to pretend I already know every infrastructure answer. I need to know which questions to ask and make sure Council gets the information it needs before making those decisions.