File photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

NEW LOOK COUNCIL

Kamloops’ new council to be sworn in November 1

Oct 17, 2022 | 4:07 PM

KAMLOOPS — A new look Kamloops council will convene next month with only three incumbents sitting at the table. Bill Sarai, Mike O’Reilly and Dale Bass all secured re-election on Saturday (Oct 15) night, while Nancy Bepple, who previously served on council, will also be returning to city hall.

Newcomer Katie Neustaeter announced her presence at city hall on Saturday night by collecting the most votes of the 23 candidates on the ballot. She will serve as one of four brand new faces at the council table.

“On election night, what I said was that I was confident in Kamloops, confident that Kamloops would show up and use their voice and elect a group that could work together. And they absolutely did that,” said Neustaeter.

Joining Neustaeter will be Stephen Karpuk, who found that the third time is indeed the charm, as he finally got elected, named on 35 per cent of ballots.

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“We’ve got some work ahead of us. Looking forward to getting to it, it’s going to be a lot of hard work, some difficult decisions, some probably uncomfortable discussions but I think we can come together and make that work,” said Karpuk.

Incumbent O’Reilly will be back at city hall as one of three returning councillors. He expects the transition to be similar to that of 2018.

“Myself, Councillor Bass and Councillor Sarai will play a bit of a leadership role — not so much in what people want to do, but more procedurally and how you can actually get things done around city hall. That’s a very big learning curve, and all three of us we went through that exact same thing four years ago and we will all be stepping up to the plate to help our new teammates,” said O’Reilly.

Fellow incumbent Bill Sarai just edged out O’Reilly in the polls and agreed with his colleague that there will be a learning curve with the new council.

“When they make a decision, stand with it, don’t back off. That’s a hill you’ve decided to stay on, then let’s stay with it. And if you need to reach out to other councillors to share your perspective or something that you know, that is what we are here for,” added Sarai.

With so many new faces around the council table at in the mayor’s chair, the team will need to work together to move Kamloops forward.

“I’m looking forward to it. I see some very like-minded individuals on council. If not a single voice, there is enough that we will be able to put forth joint-force voices to try to make sure that we are heard and that we can get done what we want to achieve,” said Margot Middleton.

All the freshly elected councillors noted that crime-related issues will be front and centre at city hall.

“There is an unacceptable level of crime. We have some solutions that we can bring forward as a group, and we also need a strategy that aligns all three levels of government here in Kamloops. All elected representatives who speak very loudly and make sure we get done what we need to. I am here to support those initiatives and hope that some compassion will be part of that conversation,” said Neustaeter.

The new mayor and council will be sworn in on November 1 in a virtual ceremony.