COLIN Basran, 37, will be the next mayor of Kelowna. He faced former mayor Sharon Shepherd in the mayoral race after Walter Gray decided to leave the mayor’s office after four terms and endorsed Councillor Basran who thrashed Shepherd by more than 6,000 votes (16,755 to 10,358 votes).

Basran was born and raised in Kelowna. He graduated from KLO Secondary school after attending elementary and middle schools in the Rutland area. The Basrans were one of the very first South Asian families to settle in the Okanagan, arriving around 1907.

Colin is a realtor with Royal Lepage Kelowna. He was a news reporter with CHBC News. He’s organized his own annual charity golf tournament to raise money for the Kelowna General Hospital Foundation and also done fundraising work in the past for the ALS Foundation of British Columbia.

Also, South Asian Councillor MOHINI SINGH was reelected. She came fourth.

Mohini Singh is a former journalist for CHBC TV and CBC radio and covered issues in the valley for 22 years. She received the Order of B.C. in 2008. In 2009 she was named Kelowna’s Woman of the Year. She has volunteered at the Kelowna’s Women’s Shelter for many years.