Krog Won Another Term—Not a Blank Cheque

Winning another term does not give Mayor Leonard Krog a blank cheque for further tax increases.

Krog’s vote count has fallen in each of his three successful mayoral elections:

• 2018: 20,040 votes
• 2022: 12,390 votes
• 2026: 10,368 votes

This time, he received approximately 41.1% of valid votes cast for mayor. The other 58.9% went to his challengers.

He won the largest individual share of the vote, but not a majority and  approximately 13% of Nanaimo’s registered voters.

Turnout and competing candidates differed between elections. These numbers cannot tell us why each voter made their choice. They do, however, undermine any suggestion that re-election demonstrates majority endorsement of his tax policies.

Re-election gives the mayor and council the authority to govern. It does not establish public approval of every spending decision or future tax increase.

Before asking households for more, council should commit to an independent Core Services Review AND a Taxpayer Affordability Test.

They won another term. They still have to justify the bill.

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Sources: City of Nanaimo 2018 preliminary election results; 2022 official election results; 2026 official election results. The 2026 percentage is calculated from the 25,240 valid votes recorded for mayor.