10/06/2026
🎥 The recording of SCDA’s Municipal Election Forum is now available to watch online.
The forum included candidates seeking election for RDOS Electoral Area B, as well as candidates for Mayor and Council for the Village of Keremeos. Candidates responded to questions submitted by community members on local priorities, governance, financial responsibility, economic development, community services and other issues relevant to the positions they are seeking.
▶️ Watch the full forum here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBpQ9VypOXU
A big thank you to Heather for volunteering her time to moderate our Election Forum and helping us keep the evening organized, fair and moving smoothly.
Another thank you to LSCSS - Lower Similkameen Community Services Society for lending us their conference system for the evening! We did our best to capture the forum’s video and audio as clearly as possible and have added automated closed captioning through YouTube in an effort to make the recording as accessible as possible. Please note that YouTube’s closed captions are automatically generated and may not always accurately capture candidate names, local place names or other Similkameen-specific terminology. Another small disclaimer: the camera apparently became a big Hugh fan over the course of the evening and, despite its automated zoom and tracking, decided everyone deserved an extended close-up of our staff member instead! We hope you’ll forgive its artistic choices and still find the recording helpful and informative. ☺️
⏱️ Use the timestamps below to jump directly to the portion of the forum you’d like to watch:
Welcome & Introduction: 0:01
RDOS Electoral Area B Director: 4:30
Village of Keremeos Mayor: 22:40
Village of Keremeos Council: 1:01:04
We’ve also received questions about what these different elected positions actually do. Here’s a quick overview:
Mayor & Municipal Council
The Mayor and Councillors together form the municipality’s elected Council and make decisions collectively. Council establishes policies and priorities, adopts bylaws and budgets, and makes decisions about municipal services and other matters within its authority.
The Mayor is also the head of the municipality and has additional responsibilities, including providing leadership to Council, chairing Council meetings and communicating information to Council.
What about the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and municipal staff? There is an important distinction between governance and administration! In practice, elected officials govern and provide direction, while the CAO and municipal staff administer the organization and carry out Council’s decisions.
➡️ Learn more about the roles of Mayors and Councillors from the Province of B.C.:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/local-governments/governance-powers/councils-boards/municipal-council-organization/mayor-councillors
➡️ Learn more about local government officers and employees from the Province of B.C.:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/local-governments/governance-powers/councils-boards/officers-employees
RDOS Electoral Area Director
An Electoral Area Director is directly elected by residents of a specific area. Electoral Area B, for example, includes Cawston and the surrounding Lower Similkameen rural area. The Director represents their Electoral Area, but they are also one member of the larger Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Board of Directors.
Together, these Directors govern the Regional District and make decisions about regional, sub-regional and local services. Depending on the service or matter being considered, different jurisdictions may participate in the decision and different voting rules may apply. This means an Electoral Area Director represents the interests of their own community while also participating in a larger regional governance structure alongside representatives from other rural areas and municipalities.
➡️ Learn more about how the RDOS works and its Board of Directors:
https://www.rdos.bc.ca/regional-government/what-we-do/what-we-do/
Not every issue affecting our community falls under the responsibility of the Village of Keremeos or the RDOS. Municipal, regional district, provincial and federal governments have different responsibilities, and even within the RDOS, services can differ between communities and Electoral Areas!
The RDOS has created a helpful “Who Does What?” infographic showing examples of responsibilities at each level of government:
https://www.rdos.bc.ca/legislative-services/local-government-awareness-week/who-does-what-infographic/
SCDA hosted the Election Forum as a non-partisan informational event. The recording is being shared as presented to provide residents with an opportunity to review candidates’ responses and learn more about the roles they are seeking ahead of the election. We encourage all eligible voters to seek out additional information from reputable sources, research the candidates and the roles they are seeking, and make their own informed voting decisions.
Each municipal council in B.C. consists of a mayor and councillor. Learn about mayor and councillor responsibilities and remuneration and the oath mayors and councillors take.
