Zeb King - Central Saanich mayor candidate 2026

Zeb King

Municipality where you are running: Central Saanich

Position you are running for: Mayor

Are you associated with or running as part of a slate? If so, which one?

No

Do you live in the municipality where you are running, and if so, for how long? If not, in which municipality do you live? What is your connection to the community where you are running?

Yes. I am a third-generation Central Saanich resident. My family has deep roots here, and Central Saanich has been home for most of my life. Apart from periods away, including time teaching English in South Korea, I have lived and worked in this community for decades.

My connection is both personal and public. My family is here, this is the community I grew up in, and I have had the privilege of serving Central Saanich residents on Council for more than 20 years.

What is your job/profession, and for how long?

I am a doctoral candidate at Royal Roads University, studying political and community organizing, with a focus on how stronger relationships and community participation can strengthen democracy.

Previously, I worked as a policy analyst with the B.C. Ministry of Health for 13 years.

Tell us about your previous elected and/or community experience.

21 years on Central Saanich council

I have served 21 years on Central Saanich Council, first elected in 2002, including serving as Acting Mayor. I have represented Central Saanich on the Greater Victoria Public Library Board, the CRD Regional Water Supply Commission, the Peninsula Water Commission, the Peninsula Wastewater Commission, the CRD Solid Waste Advisory Committee, and the Victoria Family Court and Youth Justice Committee.

In 2022, I brought forward a motion for Central Saanich to seek grant funding to develop an Age-Friendly Community Plan. Council supported the motion, the municipality received the grant, and I later had the privilege of chairing the committee that developed the plan.

I have also served as Council liaison to the Central Saanich Senior Citizens’ Association, as an alternate representative on the Saanich Peninsula Accessibility Advisory Committee, and on other local and regional committees over the years, including Central Saanich’s Heritage Commission.

If you have previously held office: What have you accomplished that you’re proud of, and how much did it cost the municipality?

Council works collectively, so no individual councillor can take sole credit for an accomplishment. But I am proud of several initiatives I brought forward or helped lead over my 21 years on Council.

One was the sidewalk on Stelly’s Cross Road near Tsartlip First Nation. I went door to door talking with residents, worked to build community support, met with Tsartlip Chief and Council, and advocated for the project at Council. The project became a collaborative effort between Central Saanich and Tsartlip, with outside grant funding pursued to help pay for it. The sidewalk was completed in 2019.

I also advocated for bringing public transit into local First Nations communities, restoring the recording of individual councilor’svotes in the public record, and increasing transparency through video recording of Council meetings.

The costs varied. The sidewalk was a capital project involving outside funding as well as municipal participation. Other changes, such as recording how councillors voted, involved little or no additional municipal cost.

If you have previously held office: What do you wish the municipality had not done under your watch?

I wish Council had not expropriated the Hovey Road property and proceeded with the current municipal hall redevelopment plan. I opposed the expropriation and have voted against key decisions advancing the project.

The municipality budgeted $4.69 million for the Hovey Road land acquisition, with additional legal and related costs that have not been publicly disclosed. The current construction budget for the new facility is $64 million. I believe Council should have considered less costly alternatives and involved the public more fully before committing the municipality to a project of this scale.

Why are you running? What is your motivation?

I am running because I believe my 21 years of municipal experience can provide Central Saanich with informed, experienced leadership at an important time for our community. I know the community, the issues, the history behind many of the decisions before us, and how local government works in practice.

I want to use that experience to strengthen openness and transparency in our local government and make sure residents have a meaningful voice in shaping the community where they live.

During that time, I have had the opportunity to serve with four mayors and have learned a great deal from each of them. I want to carry those lessons and that experience forward as mayor, while bringing my own approach to leadership: listening to people, involving them in decisions, and being open about how those decisions are made.

What would you bring to council?

I would bring proven experience in municipal government. After 21 years on Council, I have a public record of decisions and votes that residents can examine for themselves. They do not have to judge me only by what I say during an election campaign; they can see how I have voted and what I have stood for over time.

I also bring a deep understanding of how a seven-member Council works. A mayor cannot govern alone. Leadership means listening, building support, finding common ground among independently elected councillors, and helping Council move forward together.

In your opinion, what are the three most important challenges facing your community?

1. Managing major financial commitments responsibly. Council’s decision to proceed with a $64-million municipal facility represents one of the largest capital commitments in the municipality’s history and will have implications for future financial priorities. The next Council will need to determine the most responsible way forward while protecting the municipality’s ability to fund other priorities.

2. Managing growth while protecting the character of Central Saanich. We need to accommodate growth and housing in the right places without losing the farmland, natural areas, village character and rural feel that make Central Saanich the community we know and love.

3. Renewing our aging infrastructure while keeping taxes affordable. We need to replace aging sewer and water lines while continuing to invest in the everyday infrastructure residents rely on, including safe sidewalks, roads, crosswalks and adequate parking. The challenge is planning and paying for that work responsibly without placing an unreasonable burden on taxpayers.

What’s your vision for your community in 10 years?

I see strong, walkable village centres with homes, shops and services close together, supported by renewed infrastructure, good roads, sidewalks, transit and adequate parking. Growth should be focused within our Urban Containment Boundary, strengthening the places we already have while protecting the farmland, natural areas and rural character that define us.

I see Keating thriving as a centre for local business, employment and innovation. I also want it to support our agricultural economy, including a local food hub where farmers and food producers can process and add value to products grown and raised here. That would keep more of the economic value in our community while strengthening local food security.

Most of all, I want Central Saanich to embrace change without losing the character, landscape and sense of community that make it distinctive.

In 10 years, I want us to have embraced change without losing the farmland, village centres, natural environment and sense of community that make Central Saanich distinctive.

What is one “big idea” you have for your community?

My big idea is to give residents a greater role in shaping the decisions that affect their community. I would like Central Saanich to move further along the IAP2 public participation spectrum, from simply consulting residents toward greater collaboration and, where appropriate, giving residents more influence over how solutions are developed.

Before the election, I brought forward a motion asking staff to explore what that could look like and provide Council with options. Council referred that question to the next Council.

The goal is not to turn every decision into a referendum. It is to find practical ways for residents to play a more meaningful role in shaping important decisions. On some significant community issues, that might include citizens’ assemblies or other forms of deliberative public participation.

I want more opportunities for residents to help shape major proposals before the options are largely settled. My big idea is to involve people earlier, when their input can have the greatest effect.

If elected, how will you balance your goals with fiscal responsibility?

First and foremost, we need to work our way through the financial situation created by the expropriation of the Hovey Road property and the proposed new municipal hall. There is an old saying that when you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. In practical terms, that means being very cautious about adding further major commitments until the new Council has reviewed where we are, what our options are, and what can still be changed.

With a fresh set of ideas at the Council table, I believe we can find a responsible way forward.

Fiscal responsibility also means setting priorities. We need to make sure we can afford the things a municipality must provide, including addressing our aging water and sewer infrastructure, roads, sidewalks and other basic services, before taking on projects that would place an unreasonable burden on taxpayers or crowd out higher-priority needs.

For major projects, Council should look at the full lifecycle cost, including construction, financing, operating, maintenance and future renewal costs, as well as the impact of debt on future budgets and taxes, available alternatives, and opportunities for outside funding before making a commitment.

Are you in favour of increased development or densification in your community? How would you balance the need for more housing, as mandated by the province for some areas, with local concerns?

I support development and new housing. The question is where it should go and what kind of housing we are building. Central Saanich has an Official Community Plan that sets out where growth should take place, and I believe Council should treat that plan as the community’s primary guide and listen carefully to residents when changes are proposed.

I support growth within our Urban Containment Boundary, particularly where it strengthens our existing village centres. But simply building more expensive housing does not necessarily provide homes that people can afford. I would like to see more genuinely affordable housing, including co-op housing that can remain affordable over the long term.

Central Saanich has already shown that it can accommodate significant new housing. Where the Province mandates additional growth, it also has a responsibility to help municipalities pay for the infrastructure needed to support it. More homes mean additional demands on water, sewer, roads, sidewalks, parks and other municipal services. Existing property taxpayers should not be expected to carry an unreasonable share of those costs.

We can provide more housing while protecting our agricultural land, rural areas and the character of established neighbourhoods. The key is planning growth carefully, putting it in the right places, and involving the community in those decisions.

Governing is hard. How do you make decisions when the answers aren’t clear?

When the answer isn’t clear, I start by listening. I go door to door and talk with people rather than simply expecting them to come to me. I want to hear from the people affected, consider different perspectives, ask questions of staff, and understand the evidence, the options and the broader consequences before me.

Ultimately, you have to go back to your principles. If you don’t, it can be easy to follow the emerging consensus rather than exercise your own independent judgment. There are times when independent judgment means voting differently from everyone else.

I also believe there is wisdom in bringing different people and perspectives together. Good discussion can change other people’s minds, and it can change mine. If someone makes a better argument or brings forward evidence I had not considered, I am willing to change my view.

After 21 years on Council, I have learned that there isn’t always a perfect answer and reasonable people can reach different conclusions. My values have to guide me even when a decision is difficult. I make the best decision I can, explain why I made it, take responsibility for my vote, and acknowledge when I was wrong and change direction when the evidence or a better argument warrants it.