Barry Dorval will run for a seat on Vernon City Council. (Image Credit: Barry Dorval)

By Liam Verster

Election 2026

Former teacher looking for seat on Vernon City Council

Aug 17, 2026 | 11:27 AM

A long-time resident, retired teacher and community volunteer will run for a seat on Vernon City Council.

Barry Dorval announced his candidacy for the fall municipal election.

Dorval moved to Vernon with his wife, Anna, in 1999. The couple raised two children in Vernon, and over the years Dorval taught and held leadership roles as chair of the city’s Climate Action Advisory Committee, president of the Vernon Teachers’ Association, and chair of the Mackenzie Camp Society. He also volunteered with other organizations dedicated to supporting affordable housing, community resilience, student climate education, and work to make Vernon a welcoming community.

In a release, Dorval said he could bring his leadership experience to the council chambers.

“One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that difficult issues rarely have simple answers,” the candidate said.

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“The best decisions come from listening to a variety of perspectives, asking thoughtful questions, working hard to understand the facts and details, and then acting with courage and integrity.”

Dorval said Vernon faces important opportunities and challenges in the coming years, and his campaign is focused on expanding housing choices, guiding community growth, improving in infrastructure and services, and strengthening the local economy, community supports, and land, water and natural areas.

“We need to plan for the future while protecting and strengthening the qualities that make Vernon such a great place to live,” the former teacher said.

“Good planning creates stable, fair, and accountable systems. Council must respect and be guided by the Official Community Plan and the many other community plans that have been developed through broad public conversations. Of course we need to be ready to adapt when new information or changing circumstances genuinely call for it, but that should be the exception, not the rule.”

He also said there was a need for local government to pay attention to the public, take their comments seriously, and be accountable.

“People deserve to know their voices matter. Council can’t make everyone happy, but it can listen carefully so that it is guided by the long-term interests of the community. And once decisions are made, it can let folks know why it chose the course that it ultimately took,” Dorval stated.

The local general election is scheduled for Oct. 17.

by Liam Verster

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