Penticton residents will go back to the polls for the third time this year as the city undergoes its second by-election for city council.
After the election on April 28, Helena Konanz was chosen as the MP for the Similkameen-South Okanagan-West Kootenay riding, leaving her seat on council open.
The federal election was less than a month after the city's first by-election of the year, which filled the spot opened up by MLA Amelia Boultbee after she jumped to provincial politics.
The date for the next by-election will depend in part on when the city receives Konanz' formal written resignation, which the city hadn't received yet when contacted for information.
It took more than two months from the provincial election for city council to vote and approve a by-election date for Boultbee's seat, which wasn't filled until April 5.
If it takes the same amount of time to schedule and then hold the next by-election, Konanz' seat could be left open until October.
Penticton is already down one spot with Coun. James Miller on mandatory leave since August 2024 over criminal charges of sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and sexual assault on a person under the age of 16, which go to trial in December.
The city confirmed via email that under the Local Government Act, it would need to hold a by-election to fill the spot and that it couldn't be left vacant until the next municipal elections in 2026.
After Boutlbee was elected MLA in 2024, Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield approached every member of council and asked their intentions moving forward given a federal election was on the horizon.
Konanz, along with all the other councillors, including Miller, had promised to serve out the remainder of their terms.
The by-election to replace Boultbee cost an estimated $85,000, according to city staff reports.
Asked for comment shortly after the federal writ dropped, Konanz said she would not be funding the by-election if she won.
When then-mayor Dan Ashton ran for provincial office, he paid the city back for the cost of the by-election to replace him.
Boultbee also did not provide any funding for the by-election to replace her.
