Stephen Johnston has been acclaimed as the next mayor of West Kelowna after no other candidates ran against him in the municipal election. Currently serving his second term as councillor, Johnston acknowledges past issues with transparency and cost overruns on projects like the new city hall and library ($6 million over budget) and the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant. He pledges to focus on restoring public confidence by implementing improvements based on an independent review, including enhanced accountability in budgeting processes.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Stephen Johnston, a two-term councillor, has been acclaimed as the next mayor of West Kelowna after no other candidates ran for the position. The municipal elections are still a month away but Johnston's appointment is already confirmed. He expressed his honor at this opportunity to serve and highlighted his focus on key issues such as homelessness, addiction, and wildfire resilience.
However, restoring public confidence in the city’s government will be another top priority due to recent controversies over transparency and accountability. Two major projects faced significant criticism: the new city hall and library project went $6 million over budget, and there was substantial scrutiny around the financing of the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant project.
Written for “Local Politics Cost Overrun Controversy” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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Municipal elections are still a month away, but residents in West Kelowna already know who will lead their community.
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who → know → community
Two-term councillor Stephen Johnston has been acclaimed as the city’s next mayor after no other candidates came forward for the position.
“I’m just so honoured to have this opportunity to serve as the next mayor of West Kelowna,” Johnston told Global News.
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Johnston → acclaim → News
Johnston says he will remain focused on key issues such as homelessness, addiction and wildfire resilience.
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he → say → homelessness
However, he says restoring public confidence in the city’s government will also be a top priority.
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restoring → say → government
The incoming mayor is currently a member of the council that faced criticism over what some residents described as a lack of transparency and accountability, particularly around major capital projects and cost overruns.
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residents → face → projects
“It’s no secret that we did have a couple projects that went over budget.
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that → ’ → budget
It was a difficult and challenging time,” Johnston said.
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Johnston → say → ?
The new city hall and library project came in more than $6 million over budget while the Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant also faced significant public scrutiny, including questions about how a large portion of the project would be financed and repaid by property owners.
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portion → come → owners
West Kelowna resident Jackie Haynes said the city’s recent record raises questions about whether public confidence can be rebuilt.
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confidence → say → questions
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“Not very, based on the recent past,” Haynes said, when asked how optimistic she is about Johnston restoring the public’s confidence.
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Johnston → get → confidence
Another resident, Cindy Charters, said she’s more optimistic.
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she → say → ?
“I think he can restore public confidence,” Charters added.
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Charters → think → confidence
Following the cost overruns and capital project challenges, the city commissioned an independent review that identified improvements that could be made to its capital project delivery model.
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that → follow → model
While some changes have been made, Johnston says more are needed, including the budgeting process.
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more → make → process
“One of the things I advocated for this year, which we’ve already changed, is historically West Kelowna has never shown budgeted versus actual expenses, and so we’ve got actuals in there,” Johnston said.
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Johnston → advocate → actuals
Johnston said the changes will provide greater accountability and will be important as council oversees major projects.
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council → say → projects
“Accountability is very important and for council to be able to follow the budget from conception through to completion of projects is really important,” he said.
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he → follow → projects
“We’ve been missing that piece for a long time and so big changes are coming.”
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changes → miss → time
Johnston has spent the week at the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention.
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Johnston → spend → convention
He says knowing he will be West Kelowna’s next mayor has already helped him build relationships with provincial politicians and cabinet ministers.
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him → say → politicians
“It’s opened so many doors for me,” Johnston said.
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Johnston → open → me
“You know, I’ve been bumping into cabinet ministers, MLAs.
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I → know → ministers
We’ve been going for coffee, exchanging phone numbers and it’s just been a huge leg up on building those relationships that we’re going to need to compound and grow over the years.”
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we → go → years
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