Retired TV anchor seeks seat on council
Rick Webber plans to run for Kelowna council in this fall’s election
A retired TV anchorman hopes to turn from reporting the news to making it.
Rick Webber, who hosted the main CHBC/Global Okanagan supper hour newscast before retiring in 2019, has announced he will run for Kelowna city council in this fall’s municipal election.
“After delivering the news and information to people’s homes for so many years, I’d like to continue to contribute to this community in a public service capacity,” Webber said Wednesday.
Webber said his career as a journalist gave him a good understanding of how government works at various levels.
“I also bring with me management skills, having worked in supervisory positions in the fastpaced environment of radio and TV newsrooms over a period of 40 years,” he said. “I’d like to use my communication skills to help maintain an open dialogue between the city and its residents.”
While Webber said he respects the current council and believes Kelowna has well-run civic facilities and programs, he believes more could be done to encourage the construction of more affordable housing and improve transportation.
“Public safety is also an issue that has recently struck me personally,” he says. “Over the years, I never really felt that my safety was threatened, even while working on Leon Avenue. However, in the past year, I have been attacked or accosted twice.
“And I’m not alone. In a recent survey for the city, 25% of Kelowna residents reported they have been the victim of crime in the past year,” he said.
“I certainly support council’s goal to hire more RCMP officers. At the same time, the city must continue to work with senior governments to increase sentences for repeat offenders and to provide more effective aid for this with addiction.”
Webber, who started working in the media in Prince Edward Island in 1976, joined CHBC/Global Okanagan in 1990.
Outside of the news business, he has volunteered with groups such as Wendy’s Dreamlift, Walk for Alzheimers’, and the Ride for Dad, which promotes prostate cancer awareness.
Webber says he will fund his own campaign, spending the maximum $2,500 a candidate is allowed to use of their own money. He won’t solicit or accept any donations.
“That way, I won’t have to accept financial donations and any expectations that might come with such donations,” he said.
The municipal election is on Oct. 15.