How They Voted
Seven of the 31 candidates for mayor and council have a voting record. Here it is.
Every candidate who sat on Council, and how they voted on four decisions that shaped bylaw enforcement, suites and the CAO. Each vote is from Saanich's own minutes.
| Decision | Karen Harper Mayor | Zac de Vries Mayor | Susan Brice Council | Judy Brownoff Council | Nathalie Chambers Council | Teale Phelps Bondaroff Council | Colin Plant Council |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 1, 2021 Endorsed the parking-enforcement model that added a licensing manager and three new bylaw officers. Special Council minutes, February 1, 2021, p. 8. Moved by Harper, seconded by Mersereau. Carried; no member recorded opposed. | Yes (moved) | Yes* | Yes* | Yes* | Yes* | Not on council | Yes* |
| September 20, 2022 Directed staff to report on regular performance reviews of the CAO. He has never been reviewed. Special Council minutes, September 20, 2022. Moved by Mersereau, seconded by de Vries. Put and carried; no member recorded opposed. | Yes* | Yes (seconded) | Yes* | Yes* | Yes* | Not on council | Yes* |
| June 24, 2024 Asked for a staff report on garden suites outside the Urban Containment Boundary, after ten residents asked. Council minutes, June 24, 2024, p. 14. Moved by Harper. Defeated, with Mayor Murdock and Councillors Brownoff, Brice, Chambers, de Vries and Phelps Bondaroff opposed. | Yes (moved) | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| July 14, 2025 Confirmed a Section 57 notice on the title of a Saanich home (938 Ambassador Avenue). Council minutes, July 14, 2025, p. 3. Moved by Phelps Bondaroff, seconded by Plant. Carried 9 to 0. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (moved) | Yes (seconded) |
* The motion carried and the minutes record no member opposed. Every candidate marked Yes* was present. Teale Phelps Bondaroff was elected in October 2022. The other 24 candidates have no Council voting record.
Hear it from the recording
Colin Plant, July 4, 2022, moving to keep a Section 57 notice minutes after the owner told Council what compliance would cost:
Saanich Council recording, July 4, 2022, 50:26 to 50:52.
See what each candidate answered: Candidate Answers.
Two Questions. Every Candidate. Their Words.
Will you hold a public review of the CAO? Will you take suite licensing off the list? Every answer, word for word, with one card per incumbent.
See the answersEvery Incumbent, On the Record
Each councillor seeking re-election gets a review built from their statements to voters and the press and from Saanich's own minutes and meeting recordings. Each was sent the review with a deadline to identify any error of fact. Errors identified are corrected. Every councillor was also sent the September 25 letter below, with the same offer. Every review has its own link to share.
To the Mayor and Council: Your Words on the Record
Sent to every member of Council and the CAO on September 25, 2026: what the archive returns for each of them by name, with a deadline to identify any error. None replied. Published as sent. Three statements in it have since been corrected: twenty properties, not twenty-one; the 2024 resident ratings are 46 and 40 out of 100 (BC Stats Pulse Survey), and the 2025 cost is $1,598,600; and the statement that the Development Tracker shows no permit for 4317 Blenkinsop Road is withdrawn, because the search covered active permits only and the District's property report shows building permits on file.
Read the letter → PublishedColin Plant: You Didn't Do the Work
Moved ten of the twenty Section 57 notices on residents' homes. Moved a bylaw extending entry powers on an answer that it changed nothing. On July 4, 2022 he moved to keep a notice "for $500" minutes after the owner said the work would cost $300,000. Sent September 26 with a 48-hour window; he did not reply.
Read the review → Published, correctedTeale Phelps Bondaroff: Your Promises Mean Nothing
Promised in 2022 to move a review of Saanich's complaint-driven bylaw system. The minutes from November 2022 to July 2026 record no such motion. Moved or seconded six notices on residents' homes. He replied with comments; the errors of fact he identified were corrected.
Read the review → His responseCouncillor Phelps Bondaroff's annotated comments
The review as he returned it on October 4, 2026, with his 27 margin comments. Four identified errors of fact, which were corrected. The rest are his characterizations, published unedited.
Read his comments → PublishedSusan Brice: You Stopped Listening
Six times an owner spoke to Council first; six times she put her name to the notice. Moved or seconded ten of the twenty notices recorded since 2020. Sent October 5 with a deadline of 10 a.m., October 7; she did not reply.
Read the review → PublishedJudy Brownoff: Your Ignorance Is a Choice
Voted against even a staff report on the housing residents asked for. Answered an owner's evidence with a hypothetical. Put a notice on a home because it was up for sale. Sent October 6 with a deadline of 11 a.m., October 7; she did not reply.
Read the review → PublishedNathalie Chambers: You Claim Civic Engagement, Until Residents Engage
Ten residents asked for garden suites; she voted against even a staff report. Moved or seconded seven of the twenty notices. Sent October 6 with a deadline of 4 p.m., October 8; she did not reply.
Read the review → PublishedKaren Harper: You Knew There Were Better Ways
In 2023 she told Council other things had been done instead of a notice on title. Of the twenty notices registered since 2020, the minutes record her against one. Sent October 8 with a deadline of 5 p.m., October 10; she did not reply.
Read the review → PublishedZac de Vries: You Killed the Bylaw Review
In February 2024 he moved to table the only motion this term on the complaint-driven bylaw system, saying tabling “essentially kills the motion.” Three months later he seconded the removal of what was left. Sent October 9 with a deadline of 2 p.m., October 11; he sent an automatic reply only.
Read the review → PublishedDean Murdock: You Were in Charge
The Community Charter makes the mayor head and chief executive officer. He chaired every Council hearing on 938 Ambassador Avenue, allowed the only motion on the complaint-driven bylaw system to be tabled, and voted for every notice. Sent October 9 with a deadline of 2 p.m., October 11; he did not reply.
Read the review →How and Where to Vote
Owners and renters alike.
General voting day: Saturday, October 17, 2026, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can vote at any of 16 voting places in Saanich. Find the closest one.
Advance voting
| Wednesday, October 7 (held) | 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. | Saanich Municipal Hall, 770 Vernon Avenue; Hellenic Community Centre (Greek Hall), 4648 Elk Lake Drive |
| Tuesday, October 13 | 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. | Saanich Municipal Hall, 770 Vernon Avenue; Cedar Hill Recreation Centre, 3220 Cedar Hill Road |
| Wednesday, October 14 | 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Greek Hall); 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (UVic) | Hellenic Community Centre (Greek Hall), 4648 Elk Lake Drive; University of Victoria, Student Union Building, Michele Pujol Room, 3800 Finnerty Road |
Not on the voters list?
You can register when you vote. Resident electors bring two pieces of identification, at least one with a signature, that show who you are and where you live. Renters can vote: you need to be 18 or older on October 17, a Canadian citizen, a BC resident for six months and a Saanich resident.
Vote by mail
Apply online at saanich.ca by 4 p.m., Thursday, October 15. Your ballot must reach Municipal Hall by 8 p.m. on October 17.
- Will you hold a public review of the CAO?
- Will you take licensing of secondary suites off the list?
Source: District of Saanich, Where to Vote and 2026 Candidate Profile Guide, Voting information.