Now he's really 'Mr. Mayor'

Wayne Emde, Special to The Daily Courier Posted: Monday, December 1, 2014 9:40 pm

Seven years ago, after a ball game, one of his friends jokingly referred to Akbal Mund as, “Mr. Mayor.” Last January, Mund, who had sold his share of the Vernon Wendy’s Restaurant two years ago, started seriously mulling over the idea of running for mayor. “I did some research and determined it would take about 3,500 votes to win,” he said. Mund got to work, contacting members of the sports teams he played on, business connections, and community groups he worked with, including Funtastic, the Boys and Girls Club and Kal Rotary. It turned out that many of the people I knew and worked with lived in Coldstream and couldn’t vote for me,” he said. Outgoing Kelowna mayor Walter Gray gave him some advice: “He told me not to try to change minds but to make certain that my supporters turned out. He also said it was important to do well at the advance polls.” Mund also made use of social media to reach younger voters. He was pleased to discover that a group of young female voters spent election night enjoying wine and popcorn while they waited for the results. “Given the choices available on a Saturday night, that’s terrific,” he said. Mund received 3,714 votes, followed by Victor Cumming with 3,089 and credited younger voters for making the difference. Shortly after his election, Mund met with outgoing Mayor Rob Sawatzky. “He advised me that it’s important to work with the surrounding areas. I’ve done that during the years I’ve lived here, playing sports and getting along with business owners that I compete with. For example, the A & W posted my election signs.” Mund recognizes that he has work to do to come up to speed in a number of local issues, including the master water plan, plans for a new museum and art gallery, parks and the budget. “For example, there have been four studies on the Civic Arena.” Wondering if there is a disconnect between the professional staff and council, Mund thinks with repairs to the roof and ice, the arena could host smaller hockey events as well as indoor soccer and lacrosse. He admits he hasn’t had time to read the parks plan, but he’s concerned that only two per cent of the land is used for parks, “and that doesn’t include school grounds, the D and D grounds or Marshall Fields. Kamloops has 15 per cent park use, although that total also includes schools. The national average is just over 10 per cent.” With respect to the defeated master water plan, Mund said he likes parts of it, but doesn’t understand other parts. However, he thinks it worth taking a chance. “We should complete the infrastructure and the filtration upgrades.”