Kelowna’s Indo-Canadian Mayor Faces Backlash But Comes Out Swinging Against Opponent

Kelowna’s history-making Indo-Canadian mayor is facing some heat leading up to October’s civic election but Colin Basran came out swinging against his opponent who Basran for appearing in sponsored ads on the city’s Facebook page. Mayoral candidate Tom Dyas said he was “concerned that the city of Kelowna used taxpayer dollars to promote the mayor in the run-up to the local election.” But Basran took a direct shot at Dyas’s candidacy.“Given how thin this candidate’s platform is so far in his campaign, he probably won’t have much to say about how he intends to address our top priorities. This is just another attempt to divert attention from it,” Basran said.

By DESIBUZZCanada Staff With News Files

KELOWNA – Kelowna’s history-making Indo-Canadian mayor is facing some heat leading up to October’s civic election but Colin Basran came out swinging against his opponent who Basran for appearing in sponsored ads on the city’s Facebook page.

Mayoral candidate Tom Dyas said he was “concerned that the city of Kelowna used taxpayer dollars to promote the mayor in the run-up to the local election,” reported Lake Country Calendar.

But Basran took a direct shot at Dyas’s candidacy.

“Given how thin this candidate’s platform is so far in his campaign, he probably won’t have much to say about how he intends to address our top priorities. This is just another attempt to divert attention from it,” Basran said.

Basran noted that as the city’s spokesman, the mayor will regularly be the face of their communications on social media.

“If you look at our social media channels, you’ll see that I’ve been in videos throughout the semester,” Basran said in an emailed statement. “To say that this increased the lead in the campaign is simply not true. There are reasons why some videos are boosted while others aren’t dependent on the situation or the issue at hand.”

Basran also pointed out that it is his job to inform residents about the work being done to address their concerns.

“Letting them know how these issues are being addressed via video is accountable and transparent. I will not apologize for constantly trying to improve communication with our citizens,” reported Lake Country Calendar.