Local election guide: View Royal candidates for mayor and council

Voters have plenty of mayoral and council candidates to choose from in View Royal’s upcoming election on Saturday, October 17th. 

There are five candidates for mayor, including former mayor David Screech. 

The currently sitting mayor, Sid Tobias, is not running in the 2026 local elections. 

Another familiar name that will not be on the ballot is Damien Kowalewich, who stepped down from his council position in March 2026 after being promoted to deputy chief with Saanich Police. 

In the last election, voters had only seven candidates to choose from for the six available council seats, but this year there are 12. 

Who is running for re-election?

Among those 12 candidates will be three incumbent councillors on the ballot. 

Those incumbents are:

• Don Brown
• Gery Lemon
• Ron Mattson

Candidates for mayor

Anna Becker

Anna Becker does not have a candidate website, but did create a YouTube video sharing a bit about herself ahead of the election. 

In the video she shares that she was born in South Korea and moved to Edmonton at age seven. She then spent some years in the United States before moving back to Edmonton. 

She moved to View Royal 23 years ago when she and her husband moved to Fort Victoria RV Park. She attended UVic for her master’s in business administration degree. 

Becker started a company, Capital City Purchasing Services Inc., which she says helps public sector organizations spend taxpayers funds through an open and fair competitive process. 

She says that her values are integrity, openness and value for money. 

If elected mayor, Becker says she will establish an open door policy to hear residents’ concerns, prioritize affordability, create a program to help seniors age in place and offer help to home-based businesses. 

View Becker’s YouTube video online here. 

Volker Dammann

Volker Damman was born in Germany, moved to Canada in 1988 and settled in View Royal in 2021. 

His career spans more than 30 years in technology, customer care, business consulting and project management.

Since he moved to View Royal, Dammann says he has followed council closely and become increasingly engaged in the issues affecting the town and its residents.

He says his decision to run for mayor comes from a desire to put his experience to work for the community he now calls home. 

Dammann believes View Royal can grow thoughtfully while protecting the qualities that make it a special place to live. 

His priorities include addressing congestion and regional traffic issues, keeping the town affordable through fiscal responsibility and meeting housing needs while protecting neighbourhood character and improving transparency and accountability. 

Find out more on Dammann online here. 

Teodora Kristof

Teodora Kristof is running for mayor for the first time in View Royal. 

She does not have a candidate website outlining her platform or priorities.

Ryan Painter

Ryan Painter is another newcomer to this View Royal mayoral race.

Painter has experience in governance, runs his own View Royal small business in public relations, has worked in BC’s not-for-profit sector and in the BC legislature. 

He has also served as an elected Greater Victoria school trustee and as chair of the Greater Victoria School Board. 

Painter says his priorities for the municipality lie in improving traffic flow, getting better value for tax dollars, bringing more jobs and businesses to the Western Gateway at Six Mile, bringing more family doctors into the community and allowing people’s voices to be heard.

Since announcing his candidacy, some social media posts from 2024 have come to light in which Painter shares anti-trans and anti-Palestinian views. 

Find out more about Painter’s platform online here. 

David Screech, former mayor

David Screech served as View Royal’s mayor for eight years between 2014 and 2022 when he was defeated by Sid Tobias by around 240 votes.

Now he is seeking re-election once again. 

Screech says that he believes that his passion for the community, along with his commitment and experience, place him in a position to lead View Royal for the next four years. 

He believes the town is at a crossroads and needs strong and experienced leadership to ensure the character and charm of the town are protected. 

Some of Screech’s priorities are to address transportation issues, restore citizen-led advisory committees, improve financial accountability, improve communications, conduct maintenance around town and to improve governance, transparency and resident engagement.  

See more on Screech online here. 

Candidates for View Royal council

Don Brown, incumbent

Don Brown was first elected to View Royal’s town council in 2022, but he had served as a school board trustee for 12 years prior to his election. 

Brown does not have a candidate website detailing his platform or priorities. 

Sacha Christensen

Sacha Christensen is running for View Royal town council for the first time this election. 

Christensen says he is running because he feels the community needs a council with the experience and vision to solve some of their most pressing issues. 

He sees these issues as being rooted in traffic, health and housing. 

As a strategic initiatives and public relations professional in government, he has spent his whole career working with policy makers in the region. 

This background has given him experience in bringing together local governments, First Nations and interest groups to collaborate for common solutions to common problems. 

Christensen’s priorities include incentivizing public and alternative transportation, improving traffic light timing across the region, developing a regional transportation plan, creating View Royal’s first municipal-run doctors’ office and supporting a housing stock that works for families.

Find out more about Christensen online here. 

Carolynne Clark

Carolynne Clark is running for View Royal town council for the first time this election. 

She is a parent, a homeowner and a real estate agent who works in the region and says that through her work, she has seen how difficult it is for people to afford entering the housing market. 

Her priorities include helping develop a housing strategy that allows easier access to homeownership, protecting View Royal’s identity through responsible growth, promoting proactive maintenance and responsible infrastructure, easing traffic congestion and climate action. 

Clark does not have a candidate website, but does have a Facebook page she posts to regarding her campaign. 

Spencer Dixon

Spencer Dixon is running for a council seat for the first time in View Royal. 

Dixon does not have a candidate website. 

Diane Fownes

Diane Fownes is a newcomer to the election and has been a View Royal resident for over 20 years. 

She is a mother, a public-service leader and a photographer. 

Fownes says she is running for council to listen, ask questions and represent the community.

She does not have a candidate website, but does have a Facebook page she posts to regarding her campaign. 

Cam Harris

Cam Harris is running for View Royal town council for the first time.

He was born and raised in View Royal, and returned to the community to build his career, run a local health-care practice and raise his family.

Harris says that while he thinks the Town has done many things well, such as protecting green space, maintaining the character of neighbourhoods and keeping View Royal a community people genuinely want to call home, he wants to build on that success. 

He believes thoughtful decisions about growth, improving the services people rely on and making it easier to get around are key. 

His priorities include improving traffic conditions, bringing more primary care to the town and implementing more active transportation and BC Transit service. 

Find out more about Harris online here. 

Jay Josh

Jay Josh is a first-time candidate running for View Royal council. 

Josh does not have a candidate website sharing his platform or priorities. 

Gery Lemon, incumbent

Gery Lemon was first voted to the View Royal council in 2018 and was successfully re-elected in 2022. She is now seeking her third term on council. 

She believes that with just three incumbents running, and at least three newcomers joining council following the election, her experience will be vital at the council table. 

Although she is currently recovering from a knee replacement surgery, Lemon says she hopes her reputation and advocacy for community building, arts services putting the E&N corridor to work to help relieve congestion and listening to the voices of residents on issues will be recognized.

Lemon does not have a candidate website, but does have a Facebook page for matters regarding the local election. 

Sean MacKenzie

Sean MacKenzie is running for a council seat in View Royal for the first time this election. 

He says he is running for council because he wants to give something back to the community his family calls home and to help make sure it remains a great place to live as the region grows and changes. 

MacKenzie believes the next council will have to tackle important decisions about housing, transportation, infrastructure, the environment and the kind of community residents want to leave to the next generation. 

If elected, he says he will bring a thoughtful, practical and evidence-based approach to those decisions, listen to residents, ask good questions and work constructively with Town staff and council. 

MacKenzie’s priorities include making View Royal a destination rather than a place to drive through, to give serious consideration to a passenger rail through the E&N corridor, to mitigate traffic congestion and to build more homes for all types of families. 

Find more on MacKenzie’s platform online here. 

Owen Marshall

Owen Marshall is a newcomer in this local election for View Royal council. 

He has experience working in policy, technology and day-to-day operations and currently works as a people services assistant for BC Assessment. 

Marshall was born and raised in Victoria, and has lived in View Royal for nearly a decade. 

He says he has seen the same traffic, changing neighbourhoods and public spaces as everyone else, and he wants to be useful in working through what comes next.

His priorities include making transportation in the region work as one system, whether cycling, taking transit or driving; coming up with a practical plan for parks, trails and natural areas; keeping infrastructure’s pace with housing; listening to residents’ concerns; and financial sustainability. 

Find out more about Marshall online here. 

Ron Mattson, incumbent

Ron Mattson has served three tenures on View Royal’s council—first between 1990 and 2005, second 2011 to 2014 and his third began last election when he was elected in 2022. 

Throughout his time on council he has served on council-affiliated boards including the Greater Victoria Public Library board and West Shore Parks and Recreation board. 

Mattson does not have a candidate website detailing his priorities. 

Amy McCooey

Amy McCooey is a newcomer candidate this election who is seeking a View Royal council seat. 

She says that as a healthcare worker and mother, she understands the importance of dependable care and dedicated service. 

McCooey has stated that she is running to ensure the town council reflects the real-life needs of the community’s residents. 

Her priorities include helping the town stay safe and connected, investing in vibrant local spaces and advocating for transparent spending and smart investments. 

Find out more about McCooey online here.