Local election guide: Oak Bay candidates for mayor and council

Oak Bay voters will have a choice between two candidates for mayor and nine candidates seeking six seats on council in this year’s municipal election.

Incumbent Mayor Kevin Murdoch is seeking re-election and will face challenger Sam Holland.

Murdoch has served as Oak Bay’s mayor since 2018 and has confirmed that, if re-elected, this will be his final term in office.

Three incumbent councillors are also seeking another term, while several new candidates are hoping to earn a seat at the council table.

General voting day is Saturday, October 17th.

Who is seeking re-election?

Incumbent Mayor Kevin Murdoch is seeking another term as mayor.

Among the council candidates, three incumbents are seeking re-election:

• Hazel Braithwaite
• Cairine Green
• Esther Paterson

Candidates for mayor

Kevin Murdoch, incumbent

Kevin Murdoch has served on Oak Bay council since 2011 and was first elected mayor in 2018. He was re-elected in 2022 and is now seeking what he says will be his final term as mayor.

Murdoch says Oak Bay has made progress in areas including financial planning, infrastructure replacement and housing reform, while navigating significant challenges including provincial housing requirements.

He says some of the municipality’s key long-term challenges include financial planning, accelerating the replacement of aging infrastructure, housing reform and revitalizing Oak Bay’s business centres.

Murdoch currently represents Oak Bay on several regional bodies, including the Capital Regional District Board, Regional Hospital District and CRD Housing Corporation.

He says that if re-elected, he will continue working toward what he believes are the best long-term outcomes for Oak Bay and the wider region.

Find more information on Kevin Murdoch online here.

Sam Holland

Sam Holland is a community organizer and transportation advocate who has lived, worked and studied in and around Oak Bay since 2011.

Holland has worked with several transportation non-profits, including the BC Cycling Coalition, and helped establish Better Transit YYJ. He has also served on several non-profit boards and on the University of Victoria Senate.

He says he is running because he wants Oak Bay to take a more active role in addressing issues including healthcare, affordability, transportation and climate change.

Holland’s priorities include working to bring a new medical clinic to Oak Bay, advocating for a seniors’ campus of care at the former Oak Bay Lodge site, increasing housing options, improving transit and active transportation infrastructure and taking municipal action on climate change.

He says his goal is to build an Oak Bay that is equitable, prosperous, safe and sustainable while protecting the municipality’s natural beauty and architectural heritage.

Find more information on Sam Holland online here.

Candidates for Oak Bay council

Hazel Braithwaite, incumbent

Hazel Braithwaite is a longtime Oak Bay councillor who is seeking her sixth term on council.

Braithwaite was first elected in 2005 and has served for much of the period since, including throughout the current council term.

Outside council, she has been involved with numerous volunteer, charitable, arts and community organizations. She founded the Oak Bay Young Exceptional Star Awards and has served as president of the Royal and McPherson Theatres Society.

Braithwaite says Oak Bay is at a crossroads when it comes to growth, housing, infrastructure, finances and community character.

Her priorities include responsible financial management, balanced growth, infrastructure, heritage and community character, reconciliation and the overall well-being of Oak Bay residents.

She says she wants Oak Bay to embrace appropriate change while protecting the characteristics that make the community unique.

Find more information on Hazel Braithwaite online here.

David Gleeson

David Gleeson is a newcomer seeking one of six seats on Oak Bay council.

Gleeson is listed as an Oak Bay resident in the District’s official declaration of candidates.

Gleeson does not have a candidate website.

Cairine Green, incumbent

Cairine Green is a longtime Oak Bay councillor who is seeking another term.

Green has served multiple terms on council, including from 2011 to 2014 and again since 2018.

During the current term, she has served as council liaison to the Oak Bay Heritage Commission and Oak Bay Tourism Committee, along with several regional appointments.

Green has also represented Oak Bay on the CRD Regional Water Supply Commission and South Island Reconciliation Advisory Committee.

She has spoken in support of environmental protection and regional transportation initiatives, including the concept of restoring rail transportation on Vancouver Island.

Green does not have a candidate website.

Roxanne Helme

Roxanne Helme is a longtime Oak Bay resident, lawyer and community volunteer.

She graduated from Oak Bay High School before studying economics at UVic and law at Dalhousie University. She has practised law in Victoria for nearly four decades, primarily in criminal and civil litigation, and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2013.

Helme has served on numerous boards and organizations, including the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board, Victoria Inter-Cultural Association and Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness. She currently sits on the Oak Bay Heritage Commission.

Her priorities include upholding Oak Bay’s Official Community Plan, protecting the natural environment, encouraging action on the Oak Bay Lodge and Oak Bay Marina sites, strengthening strategic governance and maintaining rigorous fiscal oversight.

She says she would bring an open mind to council, consider different points of view and focus on evidence-based decision making.

Find more information on Roxanne Helme online here.

Will Moore

Will Moore was born and raised in Greater Victoria and has lived in Oak Bay for more than 35 years.

He has raised his three sons in the community and has been involved in local sports, including coaching with Bays United and coaching soccer and rugby at Oak Bay High School.

Moore says he wants to bring a positive and collaborative approach to council and believes a more unified council could make decisions more efficiently.

His priorities include thoughtful growth and densification that respects Oak Bay’s character, protecting sensitive ecosystems, improving collaboration on council and responsible financial management.

Moore also says the municipality needs clear financial forecasting, careful project management and an adequate emergency contingency fund.

Find more information on Will Moore online here.

Esther Paterson, incumbent

Esther Paterson was first elected to Oak Bay council in 2018 and was re-elected in 2022.

During the current term, Paterson has served as council liaison to the Advisory Planning Commission and Oak Bay Emergency Planning Program and has represented the municipality with several outside organizations.

She has also served as treasurer of the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities.

Paterson has previously emphasized fiscal responsibility, transparency and long-term financial sustainability in her approach to municipal government.

She has said her involvement in municipal committees and council proceedings before being elected gave her experience with the issues facing Oak Bay.

More information on Esther Paterson is available online here.

Sarah Starkweather

Sarah Starkweather moved to Oak Bay with her family in 2021 and has a background in urban planning and human geography.

She currently works as a sustainable building certification reviewer for LEED and is a co-founder of Oak Bay For All, a community organization formed in 2025.

Starkweather says she is running because she believes Oak Bay needs to take a more proactive approach to affordability, housing and climate change.

Her priorities include addressing Oak Bay’s infrastructure and financial challenges, expanding the municipality’s tax base through additional housing, improving public engagement, protecting public services and taking further action on reconciliation and climate change.

She says she would bring an evidence-based approach to decision making and wants the municipality to make public consultation more representative and meaningful.

Find more information on Sarah Starkweather online here.

Karin Sweeney

Karin Sweeney is an Oak Bay resident, parent and longtime community volunteer.

Sweeney has a master’s degree in environmental studies and has been involved with several community organizations and initiatives.

She served on Oak Bay’s Parks, Recreation and Culture Advisory Committee from 2022 to 2026 and became co-chair of the committee in 2026. She has also volunteered with Friends of Uplands Park and is a founding member of 100 Women Who Care Victoria.

Sweeney’s priorities include building a more vibrant and liveable community, improving climate resilience, addressing Oak Bay’s aging infrastructure and creating a responsive local government.

She also supports active transportation and pedestrian safety, implementing Oak Bay’s climate plans and urban forest strategy, improving community spaces and exploring ways the municipality can help address the region’s shortage of family doctors.

Find more information on Karin Sweeney online here.

Katerina Weller

Katerina Weller has lived in Oak Bay for 25 years and is raising two children in the community.

She is a UVic graduate with a bachelor’s degree in applied linguistics and has spent more than two decades working in language education.

Weller says she is running because she wants to provide a new voice and broader representation on Oak Bay council.

Her three main priorities are services and infrastructure, community spaces and building what she describes as a healthy future for Oak Bay.

She says she wants to improve streets and sidewalks, ensure residents understand proposed municipal projects, protect and enhance parks, beaches and recreation opportunities and balance preservation with thoughtful renewal.

Find more information on Katerina Weller online here.