Former bylaw officer runs for mayor

Bob Schewe says he knows how to deal with ‘very horrendous situation downtown’

A former dog control and bylaw officer believes he has what it takes to be the next mayor of Kelowna.

Bob Schewe, 63, says he’s running for the top elected job at City Hall in part because he’s frustrated with what he says is the current council’s failure to tackle problems of homelessness and public drug use.

“I have boots-on-the-ground experience, and I know what will work and what won’t work on some of these tough issues,” Schewe said Tuesday. “It’s clear we have a very horrendous situation downtown.

“One thing we definitely need is a loitering bylaw,” Schewe said. “A lot of cities have one, but Kelowna doesn’t, and it never even seems to come up for discussion. It would be one way to stop people from sleeping in parks all over town.”

Schewe has been a resident of the Okanagan since the mid-1990s, moving here from Winnipeg. He owned a renovation and contracting firm for 25 years, and worked five years for the regional district dog control service before moving over to the City of Kelowna’s bylaw division, where he was employed for 12 years.

Schewe says he was encouraged to run for mayor by several friends, but he expects to fund his campaign on his own.

Many of Kelowna’s problems, he says, stem from its relatively fast growth rate.

“We’re rushing to become a big city at all costs,” he says. “I think we should slow down the rush, take it easy on some of these big projects and developments.”

For example, he’s critical of the city’s efforts to develop a new town centre around the Landmark centre area, believing the municipality’s plans for new roads and redevelopment in the area will displace many existing businesses that employ hundreds of people.

Schewe has never run for elected office before.