Kelowna mayor calls last election campaign 'one of the worst experiences of my life'
He said his top priority is now his family
During Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran's annual state of the city address on Wednesday, things took a personal turn when he showed a picture of himself after winning the municipal election in October of last year.
Pointing at the picture in front of a crowd at an event hosted by the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, he described the moment that should have been the highlight of his life, as feeling like something else.
"What I can tell you is that on election night, this was actually a huge sense of relief," said Basran.
"I'll be pretty honest, the election and the campaign were probably one of the worst experiences of my life."
Personal attacks on family, says mayor
Basran was re-elected mayor on Oct. 20, in the central Okanagan city, winning by a large margin with 56 per cent of the vote.
He beat his biggest competitor, Tom Dyas, who was a close friend of his and the former president of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, by nearly 9,000 votes.
The mayor did not elaborate much on the specifics of why it "wasn't an enjoyable experience," but he told reporters after his address that his family was subject to personal attacks online.
"I think it was just the nature of the campaign and the negative personal attacks that perhaps were on a much larger scale than I experienced the first time around," said Basran.
Shift in priorities
The mayor told the crowd that he has now shifted his priorities to focusing on his family more this term.
"Probably the most important lesson that I learned through this was that it's really cool to be the mayor in a city that you're born and raised in but far more important than this job is my incredible family," said Basran.
In the past, he didn't always have his priorities straight, he said.
"My family is my top priority," said Basran. "[That] doesn't mean though that I take for granted being up [at the podium] before you. Certainly, the start of a new council term is a good time to share our aspirations for the next four years and how the work we do now sets us up to meet our long-term responsibilities to this city."
with files from Brady Strachan and Daybreak South