The Full List of KDLC Endorsed Candidates

James Blenkhorn – School Trustee
James Blenkhorn believes strong public schools need proper funding, classroom support and fair treatment of education workers. Through his work tutoring local students, he has seen how important extra support can be. He strongly supports collective bargaining, fair wages and protecting public services from privatization. The KDLC believes James understands that supporting students and the people who work in our schools go hand in hand.

Troylana Manson – School Trustee
Troylana Manson brings years of classroom experience and community involvement. She understands the challenges facing students and education workers and believes school board decisions need to reflect what is actually happening in classrooms. She supports strong public education, fair wages and keeping public services in public hands. The KDLC believes Troylana will stand up for students, families and school workers.

Katherin Gulley – School Trustee
Katherine Gulley has worked with community programs supporting children and families facing difficult circumstances. She understands that some students need extra help but often fall through the cracks of the current funding system. Katherine supports public education, fair wages and inclusive schools. The KDLC believes her experience working with children and families would bring a valuable perspective to the school board.

Randy Sunderman — City Council
Randy Sunderman identifies maintaining services in-house as an important way to preserve service quality, accountability and continuity. He says he does not support contracting out core City services or using P3 arrangements to move essential services into private hands, and supports the Living Wage principle. His questionnaire also highlights local procurement, ethical purchasing, and the use of Fair Wage policies for municipal contracts.

Brian Andrews — City Council
Brian Andrews brings direct labour experience as an IBEW Local 993 member, union representative and KDLC Second Vice-President. His questionnaire strongly supports publicly delivered services, the Living Wage for Families campaign, local and unionized procurement, and enforceable Fair Wage requirements tied to collectively negotiated building-trades rates. He also points to his organizing experience, including helping organize Canada’s first unionized A&W restaurant, and says workers should have a stronger voice in municipal decision-making.   

Kathrine Blair-Wunderlich — City Council
Kathrine Blair-Wunderlich brings decades of experience in labour relations, organizing and collective bargaining, including work with UNITE HERE and other unions. She opposes privatization of core public services, supports keeping municipal work in-house where possible, backs local and unionized procurement, and supports Fair Wage policies with auditing and enforcement provisions. Her responses consistently connect good public services with decent wages, skilled workers, apprenticeship opportunities and accountability for public spending.     

Christopher Mitra — City Council
Christopher Mitra says municipal services should generally be delivered by the City’s own workforce and argues that routine contracting out can reduce accountability, institutional knowledge and service quality. He supports Living Wage principles, social purchasing criteria that recognize local and unionized workplaces, and Fair Wage policies with contract clauses, payroll verification and penalties for non-compliance. His questionnaire also emphasizes regular communication between City Council, frontline workers and union leadership.

Jesse Ritcey — City Council
Jesse Ritcey’s responses place a strong emphasis on expanding public-sector capacity rather than contracting work out. He supports the Living Wage campaign, giving greater procurement consideration to unionized goods and services, and Fair Wage standards for municipal contractors. He also cites his involvement with community organizations and labour-related issues and specifically points to opportunities to bring work such as horticulture, arboriculture, roadwork and drainage back in-house.

Rob Bertrand — City Council
Rob Bertrand’s questionnaire focuses on protecting essential services, responsible public spending and supporting local workers and businesses. He says privatization should require a strong justification and supports consideration of wages, safety, quality and experience when municipal contracts are awarded. He also supports the principle of a living wage and giving fair consideration to local and unionized suppliers, while favouring procurement rules that remain open to both union and non-union contractors.

Bill Sarai — City Council
Bill Sarai brings a long personal connection to organized labour through 31 years with Canada Post and his involvement with CUPW. He says he opposes privatization, supports Living Wage principles, local purchasing, stronger labour standards and Fair Wage requirements on major municipal projects. His questionnaire also emphasizes consultation with CUPE, converting casual positions into permanent jobs with benefits where appropriate, and maintaining good relationships between City Hall and organized labour.

Doug Ronnquist – City Council
Doug Ronnquist brings 15 years of union leadership experience with Unifor Local 10-B, along with many years of community involvement. He understands the importance of fair wages, protecting public services and keeping good jobs in Kamloops. Doug also wants to rebuild public trust in City Hall through more open and accountable government. The KDLC believes he would be a strong voice for working people on council.

Nelly Dever — Mayor
Nelly Dever’s questionnaire emphasizes keeping core municipal services publicly funded and delivered, maintaining an “in-house first” approach, and protecting stable municipal employment and institutional knowledge. She supports local procurement, apprenticeship opportunities, Living Wage principles for direct municipal employees, and Fair Wage protections for contractors, while favouring a market-based approach rather than union-only wage requirements on some projects. She also stresses regular engagement with labour organizations and says privatization should not be used for currently publicly delivered services.