Dustin Sikora puts drinking water first in campaign for mayor

Sikora says Osoyoos needs immediate water protections, greater accountability and a Town Hall that sets deadlines and delivers results.

OSOYOOS, B.C. — Dustin Sikora says the condition of Osoyoos drinking water is the reason his name is on the ballot for mayor.

In a new interview with Osoyoos News, Sikora laid out a campaign focused on immediate water protections, independent testing, evening council meetings and greater accountability at Town Hall.

“I am running because the tap in this town is not good enough for my kids or yours,” Sikora said. “A water-quality advisory is not a footnote—it is families drinking first while the treatment plant sits years away.”

Sikora said his approach to municipal government would be the same one he has applied to other responsibilities throughout his life: identify the problem, take ownership and establish a deadline for fixing it.

“I have spent my life taking broken things and owning the fix, from the Osoyoos Wildlife Federation as a non-profit on its knees to public safety businesses that answer to heavy red tape and real rules,” he said. “I want the mayor’s chair so Town Hall works the same way: name the problem, date the fix, get it done. That is why my name is on the ballot.”

Drinking water above everything else

Asked about his priorities for Osoyoos, Sikora placed drinking water ahead of every other municipal issue.

“Drinking water is first, last, and in between,” he said.

Sikora said he believes multiple carcinogenic compounds in the community’s tap water exceed federal limits. He wants immediate protections put in place for children and seniors while the municipality works toward a permanent treatment solution.

“Protect kids and seniors now, while the long-term solution is still just a drawing,” he said.

After water, Sikora said his priorities would include accountability, evening council meetings and clearer financial information about development, taxation and infrastructure.

“Then put accountability back in the room—evening council so working people can attend, and a recall bylaw so elected officials answer to accountability and ethics in between elections,” he said. “After that: honest numbers on development, taxes, and infrastructure, not another year of soft language.”

For Sikora, other municipal priorities should wait until residents can trust the water coming from their taps.

“Everything else waits until families can trust drinking what’s poured in the glass.”

Immediate water protections

Sikora said the water-quality advisory has not been treated with the urgency it deserves.

“The advisory has been treated like a notice on a website, not something people wake up to every morning,” he said.

He also pointed out that boiling does not remove manganese from water and can concentrate it as water evaporates.

“Boiling does not fix manganese—it can concentrate it—and residents still do not get independent results they can trust.”

Sikora supports installing reverse-osmosis filters at every public school in Osoyoos and at the Sonora Community Centre. He also wants a filtered-water filling station available to the public 24 hours a day.

“I support reverse-osmosis filters at every public school and at Sonora Community Centre, and a 24-hour public filtered-water spigot, this term,” he said.

He is also calling for independent laboratory testing, with the complete results made public.

“I support independent lab testing, published, so nobody has to take Town Hall’s word for the pipe.”

Citizen oversight and a long-term water source

Sikora wants a funded Citizen Water-Quality Committee with the authority to participate meaningfully in decisions about testing, treatment and the community’s long-term water plans.

“I support a funded Citizen Water-Quality Committee with real authority, not a photo-op,” he said.

For the permanent solution, Sikora continues to support pursuing mountain-spring drinking water.

“I support the long fight for mountain-spring drinking water instead of another decade of ‘until further notice.’”

Evening council meetings

Sikora also wants council meetings moved to the evening so residents do not have to miss work to attend.

“Two o’clock meetings lock out the people who pay the bills,” he said.

He argues that accountability requires more than publishing agendas, minutes and recordings. Residents need a practical opportunity to attend meetings, hear the discussion and address council directly.

Sikora also supports establishing a recall bylaw intended to hold elected officials accountable for their conduct between municipal elections.

Concerns about priorities and staff morale

Sikora said he believes important municipal work is being overshadowed while questions about testing, treatment and accountability remain unresolved.

“Staff have taken a pounding in morale as they see the shenanigans while the real file—testing, treatment, and who is accountable—stays vague,” he said. “Ribbon cuttings get coverage; the conflict of interest violations do not.”

Asked what he would bring to council, Sikora described himself in direct terms:

“An owner, not a commentator.”

He said he would not blame Town employees, staff reports or previous councils when something goes wrong.

“I will not hide behind a staff report or the last council when the water is wrong,” he said. “I date a fix and stand on it.”

Sikora said his first day as mayor would be about acting on a plan rather than beginning another discussion about whether a problem exists.

“Day one is execution of a plan already on the record, not a workshop to discover we have a problem.”

Supporting Town employees

Sikora said municipal employees need both support and clear expectations.

“I will back town employees in public and hold them to a standard in private, because a scared staff does not give you honest numbers,” he said.

He believes employees should have enough freedom to bring forward ideas, information and professional advice without fearing that they will be publicly blamed when decisions become difficult.

“Good people need to be given a wide canvass to work on.”

Experience and connection to Osoyoos

Sikora described his connection to Osoyoos through his family, community involvement and the lake itself.

“This is home—my family, my kids, my wife’s parents, my mother, this lake.”

He pointed to his involvement with the Osoyoos Wildlife Federation as an example of his willingness to accept responsibility for an organization facing serious challenges.

“I put a large amount of my own money into the Osoyoos Wildlife Federation when the club was broke, stayed on the board to this day, and helped make it cash-flow positive and a law-enforcement training provider,” he said.

Sikora also served for eight years as a Canadian Armed Forces Reserve Military Police member and trained as a close-protection operator.

“I invented and was awarded a patent for a liquid driven HAZMAT materials separator and the industry value is significant,” he added.

Sikora said voters do not have to accept a campaign biography at face value because his record can be examined.

“That is a record you can walk down and check, not a lawn-sign biography.”

A contract with voters

Sikora is directing residents to read his “Contract with Osoyoos,” which he describes as his commitment to each citizen of the community.

He is also encouraging voters to watch the third video in his campaign series and attend one of his town halls.

“Come to a town hall and ask me the ugly questions on camera,” he said. “I would rather lose an argument in daylight than win one in a hallway.”

Sikora ended the interview by returning to the issue that defines his campaign.

“Kids and seniors drink first,” he said. “If that is the mayor otherwise known as the highest elected employee that you want, hold me to it—that is the job I am asking for.”

Sikora’s “Contract with Osoyoos” and campaign videos are available at DustinSikora2026.com.

Osoyoos News 2026 election coverage

Every declared candidate has been offered the same opportunity to speak directly to the community about their campaign, priorities, experience and reasons for running.

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