The current Kamloops council is sworn in after the 2018 election. (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: What qualities do you want to see in our next mayor?

Mar 4, 2022 | 11:43 AM

WE HAVE A COUPLE OF OPTIONS out there, so let’s talk about it: who do we want to be the next mayor of Kamloops?

By October when this term ends, Ken Christian will have served a term-and-a-quarter in the mayor’s chair, finishing up nearly three decades in municipal office.

Unfortunately, his tenure will be remembered for wildfire disaster response in 2018, for building crises in housing, mental health and substance use taking its toll on the streets of the city, and for two-plus years dealing with the impacts of a global pandemic.

Handling the impacts of large scale, negative events is a big part of leadership, so no one should say the past five years have been unfair to Christian.

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Even so, they haven’t allowed voters to remember those ribbon-cutting positives that dotted the past term, either.

We have two candidates who have declared their intentions to seek the mayor’s chair: Ray Dhaliwal, the locksmith and longtime community organizer who served one year on council after being chosen in the 2017 by-election, and Arjun Singh, the property manager and four-term Kamloops councillor who briefly served as acting mayor before the 2017 vote.

Dhaliwal’s popularity in the community should not be underestimated.

He failed to win re-election in 2018 after failing to stand out during his year at the horseshoe.

Now, he’s coming out swinging, talking online about being bullied during that year, and saying council needs to show more backbone in challenging staff proposals.

Singh, too, has experienced electoral defeat, and his ascension from that defeat as an incumbent in 2008 to his place as one of the city’s most popular councillors has been impressive.

Even so, he is tied to the decisions of both the current and the recent past councils, and there are a lot of voters who will hold that against him.

In fact, there may be more current councillors who put their names forward, and they will have to wear those decisions, too.

I would suggest there is value in new and fresh ideas and perspectives around the council table – but an important quality that isn’t talked about enough is the ability to bring those diverse perspectives together and get them headed in one direction.

It’s like herding cats – and that skill is arguably more important in a mayor than any particular idea or ideology.

What qualities do you want to see in our next mayor?

Let us know through our website or on social media.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.