Kelowna Candidate Questionnaire | Ken Chung for Councillor

KelownaNow reached out to all mayoral, council and school trustee candidates running in Kelowna’s and West Kelowna’s 2014 Civic Election and asked them questions submitted by you, the reader.

Responses of those who chose to participate will be posted between November 3rd and November 14th in a randomly selected order.

Ken Chung - Kelowna City Councillor Candidate

1. What career experience do you have to be a Kelowna City Councillor? Please provide a specific example of a decision you made that affected the community.

I have over 25 years of business experience and a decade producing strategic and critical thinking seminars for other business professionals and entrepreneurs alike. Because of my background in management, marketing & mentoring, I frequently get asked to consult or sit on committees for community events such as the Okanagan Boys & Girls Club Race for Kids. I have participated in many charitable events when I owned my restaurant and printing business.

2. How many council meetings have you attended prior to announcing your candidacy?

Approximately 30.

3. There are so many buildings sitting empty along Bernard Avenue in downtown Kelowna, what are you going to do to attract businesses to the core and help them survive.

While property management is not part of the council’s duties, it is important to work actively with the Economic Development Office, the Downtown Kelowna Association, and the local Chambers and business associations to attract new businesses to the downtown core as well as the other business sectors of the city.

Photo Credit: KelownaNow

4. There’s a lot of emphasis on downtown development, but what about the other town centres. What’s your plan to have business thrive throughout Kelowna?

Each community has its own business association, and I believe Council should work with these associations to help attract businesses to all sectors of the city.

5. What is your plan to encourage people to take advantage of the underutilized parkades and parking lots in downtown Kelowna?

Encourage parkade owners/managers to ensure parkades are well lit, secure, and feel safe for users.

6. How will you help support the growth of the arts and cultural scene in Kelowna?

The arts and cultural scene is not much different from any of the other challenges that we see in Kelowna but it will no doubt take a lot of creativity to continue to encourage local business to work towards common goals and successes.

7. How will you increase the variety of affordable and accessible events in Kelowna?

Creating long-term win-win partnerships with event organizers is an important function of the council. Previous councils implemented many restrictions that made it financially prohibitive for some event organizers to consider Kelowna as a destination. This may have sent the message that we are not an event friendly city. I believe this can be remedied is a way that meets the needs of the planners, the City, and local law enforcement.

8. How can you make Kelowna more financially viable for young adults and families?

I am eager to explore many creative options. There are many projects that may benefit from private / public partnerships to create positive and workable solutions.

9. What are you going to do to encourage more affordable housing and less luxury living in Kelowna?

I believe that the previous answer to Q. 8 addresses the issue of seeking solutions for affordable living.

Ken Chung - Kelowna City Councillor Candidate

10. Where are our alternative modes of transportation going in the future years to come?

Improved City Transit, car share programs, car-pooling, expanded bike lanes.

11. How do you feel about Kelowna’s current financial state? What improvements would you make?

Rather than always selling city land to developers, begin creating long term revenue generating assets for our future.

12. What would be your number one priority for the next four years as a Kelowna City Councillor?

My priorities are to bring fresh ideas to the table, helping find new and better solutions for our current, and future challenges to help create a city that others strive to emulate.

The civic election is Saturday November 15th, 2014.

For the most up to date and current information, visit our 2014 Civic Election Page.

For current information on candidates running in your community, visit the following sites:

Kelowna Votes, West Kelowna Votes, Lake Country Votes, or Peachland Votes.