Lee Abel
Council · Penticton
12 yrs
About
Local small business owner in I.T. infrastructure & pickleball events. Dedicated volunteer with SOS Pride, CMHA, & Penticton Dragon Boat, plus performer on CFUZ radio. I want the council job, not just the campaign, to build a vibrant Penticton!
Policy commitments
Buildings
We all want healthy, affordable, and comfortable homes. These policies will help to lower energy bills, cut pollution, and improve indoor air quality.
✓
Support electrification of new buildings.
Supportive
✓
Incentivize renewable energy, battery storage, and smart-grid technologies in new and existing buildings to improve energy security.
Supportive
✓
Scale up energy retrofits for existing homes, businesses, and public buildings.
Supportive
Ecosystems
The air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat all rely on healthy ecosystems. Nature can also help protect our community from extreme weather by controlling floods, protecting shorelines, and cooling neighbourhoods. Access to nature improves the health and well-being of residents, and supports biodiversity.
✓
Expand and protect tree canopy, parks, and green infrastructure to cool neighbourhoods, clean air, and manage stormwater.
Supportive
✓
Create connected urban greenways for people and wildlife.
Supportive
Land Use
We envision vibrant, walkable communities that protect nature and improve food security.
✓
Build affordable homes near jobs, schools, shops, and transit.
Supportive
✓
Upgrade critical infrastructure for heat, fire, flood, and storm resilience.
Supportive
✓
Increase food security by supporting local agriculture and community gardens.
Supportive
Transport
Connecting neighbourhoods through public transit and active transportation networks will cut pollution, improve public health, and make our communities more affordable (and fun!).
✓
Deliver reliable, frequent, affordable local transit.
Supportive
✓
Advocate to improve regional public transit between communities.
Supportive
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Build bike and roll networks that are safe for everyone.
Neutral
Watersheds
Climate change, increasing populations, and overconsumption threaten our water security. Healthy watersheds and forests are critical to support clean drinking water, stormwater management, climate resilience, and biodiversity for future generations.
✓
Implement water conservation plans and educate the public to conserve drinking water.
Supportive
✓
Protect and restore watersheds as vital municipal infrastructure.
Supportive
Zero Waste
Zero waste policies reduce pollution, keep waste out of landfills, build resilient local economies, and safeguard public health by shifting society away from a disposable culture toward a sustainable circular economy.
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Implement zero waste bylaws to divert organic waste and recyclables from disposal.
Neutral
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Support the development of a circular economy to eliminate waste and improve resilience.
Neutral
✓
Implement bylaws to eliminate waste from new buildings, renovation, and demolition projects and to use existing buildings as efficiently as possible.
Supportive
✓ Supportive
~ Neutral
× Opposed
– No response
Climate action
How have you contributed to climate action in your community through advocacy, past work, advisory committees, volunteer work, and/or reducing your personal carbon footprint?
In my I.T. infrastructure business that means helping local organizations run energy-efficient tech, extend the life of their equipment, and keep e-waste out of our landfills
Through my Pickleball events, I focus on bringing people together for healthy, low-impact recreation that makes full use of our local parks, encouraging folks to get active right in their own neighborhoods. On the air at CFUZ radio and out in the community, I’ve always used my voice to champion local stewardship and community resilience.
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know what I don’t know—and I don’t pretend to have every answer when it comes to complex climate policy. However, I am always eager to listen, collaborate, and learn from the experts, advocacy groups, and community members who do know, so we can make practical, common-sense decisions together.
Through my Pickleball events, I focus on bringing people together for healthy, low-impact recreation that makes full use of our local parks, encouraging folks to get active right in their own neighborhoods. On the air at CFUZ radio and out in the community, I’ve always used my voice to champion local stewardship and community resilience.
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know what I don’t know—and I don’t pretend to have every answer when it comes to complex climate policy. However, I am always eager to listen, collaborate, and learn from the experts, advocacy groups, and community members who do know, so we can make practical, common-sense decisions together.
Questions for Penticton
Transportation is Penticton's largest source of climate pollution. How can we decrease reliance on gas vehicles and improve how people get around the city using low emission transport (e.g. walking, biking, carpooling, bus/transit, EV)?
Transportation is a huge piece of the puzzle in Penticton, but if the bike lane debate taught us anything, it’s that forcing divisive projects on the community without listening first just divides neighborhoods and burns people out.
Reducing emissions shouldn't be about penalizing drivers or forcing one specific way to get around, it's about making low-emission options so practical, safe, and convenient that folks actually want to use them
For me, that starts with fixing and expanding what already works
We need to make our Transit system a truly realistic option by looking at better bus frequency and reliable routes for seniors, students, and working families
When it comes to cycling and active transport, instead of pushing costly new corridor projects that split the town, let's optimize the great network we already have, like improving maintenance and safer connections to our existing multi-use pathways and the KVR trail.
Reducing emissions shouldn't be about penalizing drivers or forcing one specific way to get around, it's about making low-emission options so practical, safe, and convenient that folks actually want to use them
For me, that starts with fixing and expanding what already works
We need to make our Transit system a truly realistic option by looking at better bus frequency and reliable routes for seniors, students, and working families
When it comes to cycling and active transport, instead of pushing costly new corridor projects that split the town, let's optimize the great network we already have, like improving maintenance and safer connections to our existing multi-use pathways and the KVR trail.
Penticton Council adopted a Community Climate Action Plan in November 2021. How will you prioritize actions and set timelines to move the plan forward this term?
I’ll be right up front:
I don’t come into council with a formal degrees in climate science or urban planning. However, what I do bring is common sense, small business operations experience, and an open mind. I’m always ready to sit down, listen, and learn from the staff, local environmental groups, and community experts who live and breathe this work so we can make informed, practical decisions together.
To move Penticton's Community Climate Action Plan forward this term, we need to focus on achievable priorities that deliver real environmental results without burdening our local taxpayers. That means starting with the high-impact, low-hanging fruit—like energy-efficiency upgrades for our municipal facilities, fleet improvements, and expanding organic waste diversion—especially where we can leverage provincial and federal grant dollars to cover the costs.
I don’t come into council with a formal degrees in climate science or urban planning. However, what I do bring is common sense, small business operations experience, and an open mind. I’m always ready to sit down, listen, and learn from the staff, local environmental groups, and community experts who live and breathe this work so we can make informed, practical decisions together.
To move Penticton's Community Climate Action Plan forward this term, we need to focus on achievable priorities that deliver real environmental results without burdening our local taxpayers. That means starting with the high-impact, low-hanging fruit—like energy-efficiency upgrades for our municipal facilities, fleet improvements, and expanding organic waste diversion—especially where we can leverage provincial and federal grant dollars to cover the costs.
Resilience is about being ready for unexpected shocks. Along with emergency response, what long-term planning measures would you recommend to protect our community from the impacts of increasingly severe weather events and wildfires?
When it comes to severe weather and wildfires, true resilience is about being ready for unexpected shocks long before they happen My focus is straightforward: ensuring our local, provincial, and national emergency response teams have the exact infrastructure, equipment, and resources they need to do their best work. That starts with proactive prevention. We need to expand FireSmart programs across our neighborhoods and aggressively manage fuel loads along the wildland-urban interface, clearing out dangerous brush before it ever catches fire. It also means strengthening our critical infrastructure—making sure our water systems, power grid, emergency facilities, and communications networks remain fully operational when extreme weather strikes.
I’m not a firefighter or a disaster management expert, and I’m not going to pretend to be. But my job as a leader is to listen directly to the professionals on the front lines, get them the tools and infrastructure they ask for, and build a safer, more resilient place for our citizens to live
I’m not a firefighter or a disaster management expert, and I’m not going to pretend to be. But my job as a leader is to listen directly to the professionals on the front lines, get them the tools and infrastructure they ask for, and build a safer, more resilient place for our citizens to live
How will you balance immediate local priorities—like housing, jobs, and healthcare—with the need to reduce emissions and protect the environment so we can secure a sustainable future for our children?
Balancing immediate needs like housing, jobs, and healthcare with long-term climate action isn’t a trade-off—it is the entire crux of the job as a council member.
Good governance is about solving today’s urgent problems in a way that doesn't create bigger ones tomorrow. That means making smart decisions that tackle both at once.
My focus is on listening to the experts, working with staff, and making sure every single dollar we spend delivers real results for our residents today while protecting the community our kids will inherit.
Good governance is about solving today’s urgent problems in a way that doesn't create bigger ones tomorrow. That means making smart decisions that tackle both at once.
My focus is on listening to the experts, working with staff, and making sure every single dollar we spend delivers real results for our residents today while protecting the community our kids will inherit.
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