This article is part of a multi-week feature from NanaimoNewsNOW, profiling Mayoral candidates across the mid-Island ahead of the 2026 Municipal Election. For complete election coverage, click here.
NANAIMO — Eight years into the position, Nanaimo’s incumbent Mayoral candidate feels his job isn’t finished yet.
Leonard Krog will seek a third term in Nanaimo’s highest elected position at the 2026 Municipal Election on Oct. 17, saying considerable ground has been made over his tenure, but there remain a lot of things he wants to see completed before stepping away.
“I love the work being mayor involves. You’re always learning something, you’re meeting people, you’re having a chance to participate in the growth and development and improvement of this city. And…candidly, I have a number of projects, as does Council in general in the community, that we need to get either started or finished, and those are important, and I’d love to see those through.”
Construction of a new public works yard on Labieux Rd., progress on a community centre in the South End and further advancement of the Sandstone development near Cedar are all on Krog’s list.
Elected to the role in 2018, stepping away from provincial politics to do so, Krog said a major part of his job in the early days was providing stability to City Hall.
Turmoil in Council Chambers has been minimal during Krog’s turn as Mayor, something he told NanaimoNewsNOW he’s proud of.
“You can’t talk about what’s happened in the last eight years without talking about what happened in the previous four under my poor friend Bill McKay’s term as mayor, when there was an incredible lack of decorum, civility in the council chambers, and people felt free to do all kinds of things. That, for me, was the main goal of the election in 2018, and it still remains my main goal: is to keep us out of the international headlines.”
He said his views on many key issues haven’t changed much over time and believes the overall opinion of Council’s job, particularly in the last four years, is largely positive.
Krog added it can be difficult to get a true indication of Council’s performance, given emails and other online correspondence, which can skew negatively, coupled with more positive personal interactions in the community.
“If we don’t poll, what we need to know is how voters feel, and the election is the measure, and if people don’t come out, do I assume it’s just because you know I was their lawyer, or you know I petted their dog, or is it because they support something I’ve done as a mayor?”
Krog said one misconception which has developed about him in the last eight-plus years is an accusation he is arrogant.
He admitted sometimes “I tend to say things that can tick people off,” but pointed to humble, local roots.
“I remind everybody I’m the fourth son of a widowed mother raised in Coombs, B.C. I don’t think of myself as arrogant, but at the same time, I also know you can’t be a wuss in politics, and you’ve got to be strong. I have enormous respect for the process, and if people find me arrogant, I’m sorry.”
Krog is running against Brunie Brunie, Anne Marie Dryden, and Sarah Lovegrove to be the next Mayor of Nanaimo.
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