Kelowna mayor takes seat on Rutland business association
Posted November 9, 2026 9:26 pm
2 min read
Crime is top priority for new Kelowna mayor and council
Kelowna’s newly elected city council is getting down to work, with committee and board appointments among its first orders of business.
Among the appointments, Mayor Tom Dyas has named council newcomer and downtown business owner Brady Rogers to the Downtown Kelowna Association board.
Rogers told Global News the appointment is a good fit, but said he wants to familiarize himself with the board’s role before commenting on how he can best contribute.
Todd Daniels, owner of Gallery Streetwear in downtown Kelowna, supports the appointment.
“He’s a downtown guy and yeah I think he’s the right guy for the job,” Daniels said.
Daniels has been vocal about the impact of crime and street disorder on business.
He even made a social media video earlier in the year pleading for help from the city.
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He hopes Rogers can bring about meaningful change.
“After we made our video back in January, we saw an uptick in the police force, the bylaw for maybe a month, and then it went away,” Daniels said. “And then it was like, well, obviously municipally, we can do something if there’s enough people screaming.”
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Dyas is also appointing himself to the Uptown Rutland Business Association (URBA) board, putting him directly at the table in a community where residents have long voiced concerns about feeling overlooked.
But some residents say they want to see more than a seat on a business association board.
Chris Bocskei, a longtime Ruland resident who ran unsuccessfully for city council, says the mayor should be involved in other community organizations as well.
“He should sit on other boards, not just the URBA board,” Bocskei said.
He also wants to see a concrete plan to address the issues facing Rutland.
“Unless Tom can come up and say, you know what, I’ve got a plan. This is what I’m going to do,” Bocskei said. “Otherwise, all I can just see him is having his thumb on the pulse.”
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The appointment comes after an election in which Dyas won the mayor’s race overall, but former councillor and mayoral candidate Ron Cannan received more votes at a number of polling stations in Rutland and other suburban parts of the city.
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Bocskei says he hopes the mayor’s involvement will lead to more attention for the area.
“I would like the mayor to treat us with respect, to have honest conversations with us,” Bocskei said.
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