Kevin Kraft is running as an Independent in the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream riding (submitted photo)

By Liam Verster

Candidate Profile

Fiscally conservative Independent running in the Coldstream and area riding

Oct 7, 2024 | 6:00 AM

A man who grew up in Rutland, and describes himself as a fiscal conservative, is vying for the MLA seat.

Kevin Kraft is the Independent candidate for the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream riding.

Kraft’s work experience spanned from working as a firefighter to a firefighting instructor, working for the Jaycees at-risk youth downtown drop-in centre, to being a member of the Varsity and Recreation staff at UBCO. Currently, Kraft is the Central Okanagan East Electoral Area Director to the Central Okanagan Regional District Board of Directors, and is also a teacher-on-call for School District 23.

He is running as an Independent in the 2024 Provincial General Election, saying his local ties can be beneficial in representing the riding.

“I’m not happy with local representation and the opportunity to represent the riding is what I really wanted to pursue because currently I’m a regional district director of the [Central Okanagan] Regional District Board, and Vice-Chair of the regional board, and when it comes to geographically speaking I already represent more than half of that riding,” Kraft told Vernon Matters.

Possible firearm involved

One person apprehended in connection with suspicious activity in Coldstream

18h ago

Fatal Collision, Highway Closed

One person dead in crash near Revelstoke

19h ago

Salaries

Vernon Council to discuss lesser pay increases

21h ago

“I was getting tired of parties playing politics with the areas I love and grew up in, and so I want to provide a local option, a local choice, a local voice, to bring that forward to the constituents in the area.”

Kraft described his political leaning more on the right side of the spectrum.

“I did put my name forward as the nominee for the Vernon-Monashee riding for the federal Conservatives. I was raised conservative, I’m a fiscal conservative, I’m a traditional family man. But I’m also a millennial, I was part of that Captain Planet era,” Kraft explained.

“I think there’s a different way of approaching things where there’s a lot of collaboration and a lot of intent of getting action on certain issues. I think that’s what I can provide. But at the same time I would say I’m right of centre, I am common sense, logic, good judgment. I really like to know what I’m dealing with, and I also like to know the long term perspectives while making the decision.”

Kraft, who said he believed there was common ground between the two parties, such as addressing droughts and wildfires and improving infrastructure, told Vernon Matters he believed that, as an Independent, he could hold the sitting government accountable and ensure progress is made to benefit and serve British Columbians.

“[Independents] aren’t really limited in as many ways as people may think,” Kraft said.

“We can bring up Private Members Bills, we can ask questions of either party in Question Period, we get funding for an office like any other party would. We get all the things in place, but we get to truly be accountable to the residents and the constituents who put us there.

“So when it comes to advocating for regional and local issues, the work isn’t necessarily what gets recorded and put out there in the Legislature, it’s actually working with the different ministries, working with the Ministers, and it’s addressing concerns saying ‘Remember that problem I have in Coldstream? Remember that problem I have in Rutland? I’ve still got them, what are we going to do to fix it? And if you have policy coming down the pipe, I want to take a look at it to make sure that maybe I could add some value there from a perspective that’s going to serve more people better.'”

In his discussion with Vernon Matters, Kraft said he believed the top issue constituents in the riding face are affordability.

“[Affordability] is the number one thing that is impacting people’s day-to-day lives: how to enjoy their free times, enjoy their families, enjoy their friends,” Kraft said.

“It’s frustrating to hear either side right now throw out some fiscal policies or rebates or things like that, because I’d really like to just be taxed less and not be told how to spend my money, or receive money back and be prescribed how to apply it.

“I’d really like to look at how to reduce costs, but also be tax savvy, taxation and representation, and also have some value in what it is we’re being taxed for.”

He also expressed concern with fresh water management, stating the high-elevation reservoirs could be expanded and the tributaries protected to the benefit of the ecosystem, agriculture, and municipal growth. Kraft added the risk of invasive mussels persists and protections need to be put in place to ensure they do not enter the Okanagan waterways.

The Independent candidate also wanted to see more investments in local firehalls to ensure the Okanagan was protected from fires, that infrastructure was improved, and that post-secondary programs be offered to provide local students with career opportunities in the region.

Kraft was then asked to explain his stances and thoughts on how to address a series of issues people in the riding and British Columbia face.

Affordability

“I don’t necessarily like policy where government is now sharing ownership of your home.

“The structures that be and the affordability issues that are in place, they’re from taxation and trickle-down effects of back end consumer, all the way ending up to the taxpayer and the consumer.

“I think we need to look at our tax models. If we’re offering rent and mortgage rebates, or we’re offering a 60-40 split on rent and mortgage or whatever, if there’s that much money in our provincial budget, and with the knowledge that we’re already in a deficit position, then we as taxpayers and constituents should be furious, even now, at the state of things.

“I’d rather be taxed less and not prescribed as how to spend my money if it comes back as a rebate or something like that. I feel like it’s just too much government involved in buying votes or presenting the opportunity to really create conditions where people are more reliant on government than they need to be.”

Healthcare

“It’s frustrating to hear policies coming out from the woodwork [during the campaigning], from either side, that, if they were focused on and implemented, we would have been in a better spot now.

“There’s going to be a lot of money involved in that too, and it’s that landscape of these issues, and if we’re throwing money at it, that’s going to impact everybody’s bottom line.

“If there is an apparent need [for doctors, nurses, specialists, trades, contractors and others], we need to get creative in what we offer students and offer education opportunities for those fields of work, especially to local students who are locally rooted.”

Housing

“As a rural director, we see a lot of impacts with densification efforts and municipalities. What’s interesting is the rural areas, the agricultural properties, the larger acreages out in rural interface zones I don’t think were treated in a way where we could be part of the solution. People do want to live that way, they don’t want to live in municipal centres, the idea of homeownership is one thing and the idea of property ownership and some space to call your own is a different thing, and not everyone wants to live that way. I think recognizing that there are vastly different ways to live is a really valuable thing to comprehend as we try to sort out how to approach this.

“In the Okanagan we’re building condos and densification like crazy, the condo market is already not doing great and we have thousands of units going to come online here in the coming years, and it’s like ‘Did removing short-term rentals and AirBNB’s and impacting our tourism sector and impacting our economy and not being able to accomodate both areas of growth and investment and interest, is that kind of limiting ourselves in economic performance?’ Absolutely.

“We need affordable housing, but it comes in a lot of ways. There’s a lot of costs associated with the increased of costs ot the contractors and builders and developers. We’re putting things in the building code that impact the costs per square-foot, and if I’m building my home on my property, it’s kind of frustrating because again you’re implementing rules in case I sell it to someone. It’s a challenge to grasp because at the end of the day it’s costing everyone more.”

Mental Health and Addiction

“When I talk about health care and when I talk about homelessness, I have to be very clear that I’m not an expert in those fields.

“I do think we need to be creating systems of support, especially for those who seek it.

“We can’t create systems and programs supporting, again, symptoms of bad policy. We need to go back and review how that has [impacted] our current conditions.

“I don’t like safe-drug supply. I’ve seen it be a negative in a sense that it’s finding it’s way back into the market and being sold in different ways so addicts can get what they want and it’s not servicing the need. I [also] question who the government is paying to provide safe supply.

“We’re creating the symptoms by creating safe injection [sites] and providing drug paraphernalia and creating a culture where it’s okay. I don’t want to knock addicts or think that they’re not okay, they need help more than anybody, but we can’t make it easy for others and more to fall into that space.”

“I think there is value to involuntary care and making sure we get people clean and sober enough to make decisions on how their future lives would go. We can’t do that in a state of crisis or addiction or in that zone.”

Crime and Public Safety

“In Rutland, for example, we have wet houses, dry houses, welfare offices and different services, but it’s kind of spread out throughout the communities, and what we need to do, or hope different municipalities can do, is really have centralized services so everyone knows where you can access those if you need help.

“We’ve got a bit of a catch-and-release system where it’s like multiple time offenders are just being put back out, and that’s not a comforting feel. It doesn’t create that sens of ‘I can rely on law enforcement and the government to have my back when it comes to my safety and my family and my community.’ I think there needs to be some shifts and changes there.”

“When it comes to insurance and vandalism and things that are stolen and break and enters, and we have businesses that are hiring security or are having things stolen or property damaged, all of those costs roll up into a trickle-down effect to the end consumer.”

Climate Change and the Environment

“As a firefighter and some who’s seen the fire seasons and seen the impacts and seen the droughts and the different weather patterns, in the era I’ve grown up I’ve never seen weather be consistent.

“It’s hard to say and disagree that there isn’t climate change, it’s changing all the time.

“What I’m finding is difficult is that we’re not taking action on more proactive steps to protect interface zones and municipal areas and working with our forestry industry on forest management practices to prepare for fire situations, as well as clean forest floors, clear cuts and everything else.

“We need to open up the opportunities for property owners, outside of seasons, to burn more of the fuel loads that are around their properties, ensure that their properties are being FireSmarted, ensuring that we, as a population and the citizenry, can do our best to mitigate fire issues.

“We’ve go to get back to what B.C. was. What native species are around, what can we do to support ecology, what can we do to support our watersheds, what can we do to support our high-elevation water, to assist in all of those things. It’s a whole top-to-bottom approach, and I don;t think it can be done in a four year approach. I We have to get creative in how different levels of government can support each other and support a forestry industry, which is arguably a major backbone of the province, in attaining those shared goals and values.

Public Education

“I am an educator with [School District] 23.

“The funding for education and the support education has received, province-wide is disappointing.

“The metrics of growth, population growth, in the Okanagan, have been no secret to anybody in the better part of 10 years. The fact that the province and the school board, both are responsible in how the money is allocated in the school districts, haven’t gotten more creative with how to stretch that dollar to make sure there’s enough classrooms and enough space and enough teachers to service the community and the family growth, that’s really disappointing.

“I would love to see projects be completed, schools be built, learning spaces be created.

“I would love to see the province come up with a funding model to have school districts incentivize teachers to stay after hours, wether it be for coaching or after-school programs or different clubs or different things, but have teachers be compensated for that extra time that they’re putting in. Because I really think there is an opportunity where, wether it be physical or social or just engaging with that other in that time from 3 to 5 o’clock. Teachers are part of the community, teachers care, teachers are a vital person in a youth’s life where they’re a moral compass or they get to engage differently or they get to engage their friends and learn those social queues; or participate on a sports team and get physically fit and physically active. There would be many positives that would roll out from a program like that, but it would need to have dedicated funding and a very clear application so it doesn’t get put in the wash to general revenues or general streams of budget in the education system.”

Economy and Jobs

“Tourism and the economy, especially in the Okanagan, is massive. We bring hundreds-of-thousands of people to this valley every year, every summer and every winter as we have some world class ski resorts. The impacts that the removing of AirBNB’s has had has been challenging.

“It’s connected to in a way to education, because there are post-secondary institutions that can service and fill those gaps when it comes to job requirements and job needs and different things.

“We have that airport that is needing to grow but is limited because it’s a valley bottom airport. We can’t add a second runway but we can add a lot of different services and smaller aircraft and smaller helicopters and things like that and service them within the area. The airport brings in tourists, business, economy.

“The Okanagan is in need of growth of inventory for commercial real estate, but at the same time we have to balance commercial real estate growth to housing growth to agricultural security and growth.

“When it comes to the economy, if we’re prosperous, we’re prosperous as a business, we’re prosperous as people, we’re working and have good paying jobs, then I think we have more opportunity to plan, wether it’s budget or plan for the future; we have a better opportunity to produce, wether it be agricultural products or different materials or different outcomes; and then we have the opportunity to protect,a dn afford to protect, whether it be RCMP, Conservation Officers, and different levels of protection and emergency response. I think that prosperity is clear to achieving all these goals, and I’d like to see a clearer path to prosperity from these parties than what we’re currently seeing.”

Advance voting for the 2024 Provincial General Election will begin on October 10, with general voting day going on Oct. 19.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Vernon Matters has contacted all local candidates for the Vernon-Lumby and Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream ridings, and will publish profiles as they respond. All candidates interviewed were asked the same questions.