◆ Read this before the profiles
A profile is not a verdict. The grade measures distance from this framework, not quality, and a narrow evidence base is a fact about a publication calendar rather than about a candidate. Most challengers publish detail in September; a re-score after nominations close 11 September is mandatory.
Every grade here is current. Some of the prose is not. Marks excluded on 1 August 2026 are still described as marks in a few profiles — open for the full list, and which way each correction ran
These profiles were written against the 31 July evidence base. On 1 August 2026 a full mark-by-mark re-verification applied one rule harder than before: A characterisation is not a citable sentence. Fifteen marks rested on tone or posture rather than on something a candidate said or voted for, and were excluded. The individual profile pages still describe some of those positions as marks. They are listed here so nothing is quietly deleted:
- Pro-reconciliation M1–M5 — Caradonna · Dell · Thompson · Kim · Loughton
- Pro-transit / pro-bike M19/M22/M38–M42b — Caradonna · Dell
- Province-blaming present in framing M70/M70b — Dell · Thompson · Loughton
- Climate leadership stated M58/M58b/M64b — Caradonna · Dell · Kim — the cooling bylaw is already scored once at M9
- Pro-heritage tone M43–M46b — Gardiner
- Recorded pro-enforcement votes, unnamed M27 — Gardiner — the qualifying vote is already scored once at M33
Three marks were regraded upward: the CSWB adoption vote of 3 July 2025 carried Commits at M26 and M27 but Agrees at M11 for the same councillors on the same act. It is now Commits at all three (Dell, Kim and Coleman at M11, Weak, then upward).
Every excluded mark was worth +0.5, below almost every mean, so the correction ran upward. The defect had been quietly suppressing sitting councillors' grades: Caradonna and Dell each moved up one letter. Each excluded mark is restorable the moment a vote or a quotation is attached to it — write to info@acitythatworks.ca.
Twenty-one people have a profile here. Johnston, Miller, Gervais-Harrison and Hanna are City-accepted mayors, and Collins, Filipovic, Heit and Harasymow are City-accepted councillors, with no sourced 2026 sentences, so they are named on the field-status roster rather than given invented profiles. Who is on the scorecard, who has filed but published nothing to score, and who is not on the site at all — with the reason beside every name — is kept in one place: who is on the scorecard, and who is not.
Mayor8
An accepted City nomination is not the same as a public announcement. Do not treat the Times Colonist “three candidates” frame as the City list. City elections page lists accepted mayor nominations as ALTO, Marianne; ATKINSON, Lyall; GERVAIS-HARRISON, Darren; HANNA, Christopher; HARRIS, Mike; JOHNSTON, David; MCGUIGAN, Bruce; and MILLER, Gregoor. Johnston, Miller, Gervais-Harrison and Hanna are City-accepted with no sourced 2026 sentences on this site.
Marianne Alto — Mayor, declared May 20 2026 · nomination acceptedC−26
MayorIncumbentLeft · NDP
Marianne Alto is Victoria’s incumbent mayor, seeking a second term. A facilitator with degrees in law and science, she owns Azimuth Research & Consulting and lives in Burnside Gorge. First elected to council in 2010, she served twelve years as a councillor before winning the mayoralty in 2022.
She launched her 2026 campaign on 20 May under “Experience that delivers,” naming more homes, community safety, and community wellbeing. The campaign site still serves the 2022 platform; no detailed 2026 programme was located as of 1 September. In a 3 Sep 2026 Times Colonist interview (Andrew A. Duffy), she said that if voters grant a second term her priorities will be housing affordability and protecting renters, and investing in wellbeing while “responsibly managing the city’s budget with an understanding of residents’ ability to pay.” She described herself as the candidate “with experience and a record of results.” Evidence note, 3 Sep 2026: that TC report attributed to her 93 new shelter spaces; Victoria Buzz (20 May 2026) attributed 97 new living spaces. Those are different labels, each held as attributed. This site does not infer a 4-space difference, does not sum City bullets, and does not print 93 or 97 as its own fact.
Full profile →
Lyall Atkinson — Mayor, nomination accepted—
MayorNewCentre-Right? · populist
Lyall Atkinson is a Victoria-born small-business owner and second-time mayoral candidate. The Times Colonist (Andrew A. Duffy, 3 Sep 2026) says he founded the hauling company Your Friend with a Truck in 2003; he ran for mayor in 2022.
On 3 Sep 2026 the Times Colonist reported Lyall Atkinson is in the mayoral race. City elections page (opened 3 Sep) lists ATKINSON, Lyall among accepted mayor nominations. In that TC report he said the CSWB plan “does not seem to have worked” despite a two-year budget of $17 million — that $17M is Atkinson/TC, not a City total. He said bring all parties together for a new addiction/mental-health plan and was quoted: “I’m willing to work with all parties to get this problem solved.” Separately City primary: Council approved $10.35M for initial CSWB actions (City news 2 Jul 2025); same release: ~$13.612M needed for the listed actions; $10.35M “do not total to the amount needed overall.” Those City figures ≠ each other ≠ $17M. CHEK (20 Aug 2026) already quoted him, so the 3 Sep TC piece is not described here as a first 2026 interview. No 2026 campaign website or detailed written program has been located, and he is not a scored column.
Full profile →
David Johnston — Mayor, nomination accepted—
City elections page lists JOHNSTON, David among accepted mayor nominations. He is not named in the 3 Sep Times Colonist field interview. No sourced 2026 campaign website, platform, or interview sentences have been located. Accepted nomination; nothing scored until sourced 2026 sentences exist. This site does not invent a bio, platform, grade, or campaign site.
Field status on the roster →
Mike Harris — Mayor, announced · nomination acceptedC+7
MayorNewCentre-Right · BC Conservative
Mike Harris is a Vancouver Island businessman, housing and real-estate professional, and former journeyman carpenter. His mayoral campaign describes more than thirty years in real estate, housing, construction and business; Harris Auto Group lists him as an owner.
mike4victoria.ca organizes the campaign around six priorities: safe streets, respect for taxpayers, housing that works, downtown, a review at City Hall, and conversations in twelve neighbourhoods. The site does not yet publish numerical targets or costings. In the 3 Sep 2026 Times Colonist interview (Andrew A. Duffy), Harris said the city is ready for a fresh start, citing fiscal responsibility, safer streets and stronger communities, along with greater transparency at City Hall. He said: “People should be able to understand where their money is going, why decisions are being made and what results City Hall is achieving,” and: “I’ve spent my career in business, where you have to listen to people, manage resources responsibly and ultimately be accountable for results. I think we need more of that approach at City Hall.”
Full profile →
Gregoor Miller — Mayor, nomination accepted—
City elections page lists MILLER, Gregoor among accepted mayor nominations. No sourced 2026 campaign website, platform, or interview sentences have been located. Accepted nomination; nothing scored until sourced 2026 sentences exist. This site does not invent a bio, platform, grade, or campaign site.
Field status on the roster →
Darren Gervais-Harrison — Mayor, nomination accepted—
City elections page lists GERVAIS-HARRISON, Darren among accepted mayor nominations. No sourced 2026 campaign website, platform, or interview sentences have been located. Accepted nomination; nothing scored until sourced 2026 sentences exist. This site does not invent a bio, platform, grade, or campaign site.
Field status on the roster →
Christopher Hanna — Mayor, nomination accepted—
City elections page lists HANNA, Christopher among accepted mayor nominations. No sourced 2026 campaign website, platform, or interview sentences have been located. Accepted nomination; nothing scored until sourced 2026 sentences exist. This site does not invent a bio, platform, grade, or campaign site.
Field status on the roster →
Bruce McGuigan — Mayor, announced · nomination accepted—
MayorNewCentre-Left · progressive/labour
Bruce McGuigan is a sociologist, former Vancouver Island University professor, and former executive director of Family Services of Greater Victoria. He lives in Fernwood and is making a second run for mayor after placing fourth in 2018.
bruceformayor.ca publishes ten priority areas — among them homelessness, housing, safe streets, local business, climate preparedness, and a citizens-first City Hall — plus three governing principles: listen carefully, manage competently, and use public resources responsibly. Numerical targets and costings were not located. In the 3 Sep 2026 Times Colonist interview (Andrew A. Duffy), McGuigan said his biggest concern is that City Hall is “opaque,” which he blamed in part on Alto. He said budget propositions in detail had stopped and citizen communication portals had been shut down, and that he plans to emphasize “citizen-involved, competent administration.” Duffy reports he called council’s approach to homelessness and street disorder “chaotic and unsuccessful.”
Full profile →
Sitting councillors7
Four years of recorded votes, which is why their evidence base is the widest in the field — and why a re-score in September will narrow the gap rather than widen it. City elections page: among sitting members, accepted councillor nominations are Caradonna, Dell, Gardiner, Hammond, Kim, Loughton and Thompson.
Jeremy Caradonna — Councillor, declared Dec 21 2025 · nomination acceptedC+30
CouncilIncumbentLeft · BC Greens
Jeremy Caradonna is a first-term councillor and CRD director with a PhD in History from Johns Hopkins. He has lived in Fernwood since 2012 and previously taught environmental studies, worked in provincial climate policy, and ran a Rock Bay food-delivery business.
electjeremy.ca is a 2026 re-election site. The published platform foregrounds housing, community safety and wellbeing, climate, transportation, arts and recreation, and completing the Crystal Pool replacement.
Full profile →
Matt Dell — Councillor, declared Dec 31 2025 · nomination acceptedD14
CouncilIncumbentCentre-Left · NDP-aligned
Matt Dell is a first-term councillor, a provincial-government policy professional, and former president of the South Jubilee Neighbourhood Association. He holds a master’s in political science from the University of Victoria and lives in South Jubilee.
mattdell.ca publishes an eight-theme 2026 programme: housing and affordability, climate, parks and amenities, neighbourhoods, arts and culture, downtown, governance and reconciliation. The homepage also names a downtown library and completing Crystal Pool by 2030.
Full profile →
Dave Thompson — Councillor, declared January 2026 · nomination accepted—
CouncilIncumbentLeft · NDP
Dave Thompson is a first-term councillor and CRD director, a lawyer by training, and a former officer of the Fairfield Gonzales Community Association. He has lived in four Victoria neighbourhoods as both renter and owner.
davethompsonvictoria.ca is live. A 25 August post says the 2026 programme is still preliminary and names six areas: diverse housing; homelessness, mental health and addiction; safer streets; climate, trees and the environment; a vibrant city and economy; and evidence-based governance and reconciliation.
Full profile →
Susan Kim — Councillor · nomination accepted—
CouncilIncumbentLeft · BC Greens · Victoria For All
Susan Kim is a first-term councillor with a background in food security, community organizing and operations, including work at Fernwood NRG. She was first elected in 2022.
She is seeking re-election, and a CRD seat, with Victoria For All. The slate’s published pillars are housing, care, climate and community, including more public and co-operative housing, a 24-hour mental-health crisis response, and expanded free transit.
Full profile →
Krista Loughton — Councillor, declared June 3 2026 · nomination acceptedD21
CouncilIncumbentCentre-Left · NDP-aligned
Krista Loughton is a first-term councillor, a documentary filmmaker and a Fernwood resident. Her film Us and Them has screened across North America, including on Parliament Hill.
kristaloughton.ca is a 2026 site for council and a CRD seat. Published priorities include downtown conditions, affordability, finding indoor spaces for unsheltered residents, and Positive Flow — rent supplements that help people move from supportive housing into independent housing.
Full profile →
Stephen Hammond — Councillor, declared July 6 2026 · nomination acceptedC10
CouncilIncumbentCentre-Right
Stephen Hammond is a first-term councillor, a lawyer by training, and an author on workplace human rights. He has lived in Victoria since 2005 and has served on the boards of Our Place Society, Gorge View Society and the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre.
votestephenhammond.ca organizes a 2026 programme around three commitments: a safer city, taxes people can afford, and housing that works for Victoria, including a spending review, neighbourhood input on densification, and stronger compensation when redevelopment displaces long-term tenants.
Full profile →
Marg Gardiner — Councillor, declared January 2026 · nomination acceptedC−15
CouncilIncumbentCentre-Right
Marg Gardiner is a first-term councillor with a chemistry degree and an MBA in public management. She served sixteen years on the James Bay Neighbourhood Association board before election.
marggardiner.ca organizes the 2026 campaign around safe streets, liveable neighbourhoods, respect for the taxpayer and transparent governance. The site includes a zero-based-budget commitment and a published voting-record page.
Full profile →
Declared challengers14
Scored from published material only. Most publish platform detail in September, so these grades are the ones most likely to move. City elections page: accepted councillor nominations are Bowkett, Caradonna, Collins, Cseszko, Dell, Dion, Filipovic, Garcia, Gardiner, Gibbs, Girard, Hammond, Harasymow, Heit, Kim, Lee, Loughton, McInnis, Rothe, Sandor and Thompson. A newspaper-reported indication is not an official filing.
Melissa Cseszko — Council candidate, declared May 12 2026 · nomination accepted—
CouncilNewCentre-Right
Melissa Cseszko (pronounced Chess-ko) is a lifelong Victorian who lives downtown and has operated Mel Lingerie on Fort Street for five years.
melissacseszko.ca publishes three pillars: rebuild safety through predictable rules; restore accountability through oversight and performance review; and revive Victoria by protecting heritage, historic buildings and local businesses.
Full profile →
Karen Rothe — Council candidate, declared May 27 2026 · nomination accepted—
CouncilNewCentre-Right?
Karen Rothe is a lifelong Victorian and Vic West resident whose public-service career has included municipal affairs and emergency management. She has also served twenty-two years as a strata property-management coordinator.
karenrothe.ca sets out three themes: creating trust through better leadership; restoring downtown while protecting neighbourhoods; and better planning for infrastructure, transportation, public safety, affordability and transit.
Full profile →
Wendy Bowkett — Council candidate, declared approximately May 15 2026 · nomination acceptedB−10
CouncilNewCentre-Right
Wendy Bowkett is a business strategist with an MBA who lived downtown for more than twenty years and served over a decade on the Victoria Downtown Residents’ Association board. She also serves on the board of The Soup Kitchen.
wendybowkett.ca publishes three pillars: restore public trust; improve public safety, including support for non-police crisis teams; and make Victoria more liveable and affordable, including faster approvals for non-market and co-operative housing.
Full profile →
Arthur McInnis — Council candidate, declared June 25 2026 · nomination acceptedB25
CouncilNewCentre-Right
Arthur McInnis is a James Bay resident, a law professor and a former international construction and projects lawyer. He describes more than thirty years examining government, infrastructure and contractual decisions.
arthurmcinnis.ca publishes a five-part 2026 platform: open government and fiscal discipline; neighbourhood planning and responsible growth; housing affordability and tenant protection; transportation for a functional city; and public safety with measurable accountability.
Full profile →
Jack Sandor — Council candidate, declared June 2026 · nomination acceptedB23
CouncilNewCentre-Left · urbanist
Jack Sandor is a 27-year-old Red Seal electrician and lifelong Victoria-area resident. He grew up in Gonzales and now rents near Stadacona Park. He has served as vice-president of Homes for Living and on the BetterTransitYYJ board.
jacksandor.ca carries a complete ten-part platform covering housing, homelessness, safety, transportation, climate, business, arts, governance, reconciliation and quality of life, including city financing for co-ops and a council-voting dashboard.
Full profile →
Bella Lee — Council candidate, declared June 2026 · nomination acceptedB14
CouncilNewCentre-Left?
Bella Lee is a 27-year-old lifelong Victorian, a renter and a campaign organizer. She has worked as a senior government adviser and on regional homelessness cost-sharing, Access BC’s free-contraception initiative and the Crystal Pool referendum.
bellalee.ca is live. The published programme is concise: lower the cost of living, support affordability, seek fairer CRD participation in homelessness costs, and preserve community amenities. A detailed municipal platform was not located as of 1 September.
Full profile →
Jerry Garcia — Council candidate · nomination acceptedC14
CouncilNewCentre-Right
Jerry Garcia is a retired professional engineer and executive who has lived downtown with his spouse for eight years.
jerryforvictoria.ca names five aims: grow the economy; restore safe public spaces; end chronic homelessness through housing, treatment and recovery; build complete neighbourhoods; and deliver faster, more transparent government. The site also commits to cutting permit times and publishing performance dashboards.
Full profile →
Martin Girard — Council candidate · nomination acceptedD16
CouncilNewLeft · activist independent
Martin Girard is a community advocate whose public work has focused on homelessness, civil liberties and drug policy. Campaign material describes five years of personal homelessness and current residence in supportive housing.
martingirardforvictoriacouncil.ca publishes a platform on homelessness, drug policy, law and order, Indigenous relations and the environment, including opposition to encampment sweeps and support for harm reduction.
Full profile →
Peter Gibbs — Council candidate · nomination accepted—
CouncilNewLeft · Victoria For All
Peter Gibbs is a parent, a lifelong Victorian and a community organizer. No personal campaign site was located.
He is running with Victoria For All. The slate’s published pillars are housing, care, climate and community — including more public and co-operative housing, a 24-hour mental-health crisis response, expanded free transit, and more gathering places.
Full profile →
Shona Dion — Council candidate · nomination accepted—
CouncilNewLeft · labour
Shona Dion is a labour activist, a photographer and a working parent who moved to Victoria in 2013. She has served the North Jubilee Neighbourhood Association and as a Victoria Labour Council table officer.
shonadion4victoria.ca commits to giving neighbourhoods more agency on housing security, climate resilience and community safety, and to uplifting residents and organizations already doing that work.
Full profile →
Herb Collins — Council candidate · nomination accepted—
City elections page lists COLLINS, Herb among accepted councillor nominations. No sourced 2026 campaign website, platform, or interview sentences have been located. Accepted nomination; nothing scored until sourced 2026 sentences exist. This site does not invent a bio, platform, grade, or campaign site.
Field status on the roster →
Steve Filipovic — Council candidate · nomination accepted—
City elections page lists FILIPOVIC, Steve among accepted councillor nominations. No sourced 2026 campaign website, platform, or interview sentences have been located. Accepted nomination; nothing scored until sourced 2026 sentences exist. This site does not invent a bio, platform, grade, or campaign site.
Field status on the roster →
Jason Heit — Council candidate · nomination accepted—
City elections page lists HEIT, Jason among accepted councillor nominations. No sourced 2026 campaign website, platform, or interview sentences have been located. Accepted nomination; nothing scored until sourced 2026 sentences exist. This site does not invent a bio, platform, grade, or campaign site.
Field status on the roster →
James Harasymow — Council candidate · nomination accepted—
City elections page lists HARASYMOW, James among accepted councillor nominations. No sourced 2026 campaign website, platform, or interview sentences have been located. Accepted nomination; nothing scored until sourced 2026 sentences exist. This site does not invent a bio, platform, grade, or campaign site.
Field status on the roster →
Context entries — not candidates3
Retained because each explains something about the shape of the field. Not live 2026 candidates, and not given invented biographies.
Chris Coleman — not a live 2026 candidate
Not a live 2026 candidate. His stated decision window closed with no announcement. First elected 1986.
Del Manak — NOT running, confirmed April 15 2026
Not running — confirmed 15 April 2026. Retired VicPD Chief. Not a live 2026 candidate.
Stephen Andrew — no 2026 signal
No public 2026 municipal signal located as of 31 July 2026. Not a live 2026 candidate.
← Back to the framework