Image Credit: CFJC Today / File

By Mel Rothenburger

Armchair Mayor

ROTHENBURGER: Mayor-elect Hamer-Jackson deserves a chance to test his ideas

Oct 22, 2022 | 7:00 AM

AND NOW FOR something completely different.

A week later, what happened on election day is starting to sink in. A guy few initially expected to win is the mayor-elect of Kamloops. His opponents are surprised. A lot of voters are surprised. Even some of his supporters, if they were to be candid, are surprised.

Reid Hamer-Jackson isn’t surprised, though. When he entered the race a few weeks ago, he was widely regarded as a one-issue candidate unlikely to pose a serious challenge to the rest of the field. He just doesn’t look or sound like the mayor type. At forums, he spoke plainly but had trouble sticking to allotted time limits, sometimes cutting himself off in mid-sentence with “I’m done.”

But he wasn’t done. As the campaign wound down, the Hamer-Jackson candidacy revved up. Everybody knew he was on the right issue, the big issue — crime and social disorder. But on election day, voters were widely expected to do what they usually do: be cautious and stay with someone who wouldn’t stir things up too much.

However, maybe it was in the last two weeks, he became a contender. It was no longer a choice from among Dudy, Singh and Hunter, but between Dudy and Hamer-Jackson.

Two and Out

PETERS: Whether building up or tearing down, Kamloops is what you make it

5h ago

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: How to reduce food waste in Kamloops during the festive season

12h ago

Looped In

LOOPED IN WITH NIKKI OMEN: December 12, 2024

Dec 12, 2024

“So, who do you think’s gonna win?” a certain media personality asked me a few days before general election day as I was sitting in the coffee shop.

Then she answered her own question. “It’s Reid Hamer-Jackson. Remember what I told you.”

Obviously, thousands of others felt the same way. From the first polling stations that reported in, Hamer-Jackson took the lead. The radio commentators, of course, couldn’t believe it either. “It’s early yet,” they said, which is what they always say.

But if they knew anything about Kamloops civic elections, the first poll always tells the story; almost every single polling station picks the same order of finish. As the evening wore on, his lead only became more solid.

He won, of course, because people are mad as hell about what’s going on in the streets, and they see Mayor-elect HJ as somebody who just might be able to do something about it. They respect his commitment, and they respect him for getting up at 4 in the morning on many days to talk to street people about what they need.

While other candidates talked about how local government can’t do much about the problem because it’s outside their jurisdiction, Hamer-Jackson talks about how it can be done.

He’ll be tested on that, of course. There’s a problem between him and re-elected councillor Dale Bass, who earlier compared the idea of a full-service treatment facility in Rayleigh to a concentration camp and sounded dismissive when she said she’d take advice from experts, not a car salesman.

And there were remarks about him having to learn the ropes and facing some hard lessons and all that. Maybe those people have to open their minds to some new ideas and start thinking about what can be done instead of what can’t be done, the way Hamer-Jackson has.

And then there’s the old “the mayor only has one vote” line coming from those who are under the mistaken impression that the mayor has no more influence than any of the eight council members.

That simply isn’t true. The mayor is in charge. He’s (in this case, it’s a he not a she) closest to staff and the inner workings of City Hall. He’s the first one people call when they want to talk about a problem. He’s the one they want at public events, the one who’s the face of the city.

He’s the one who has to be the ideas person, to lead, and to bring council and staff along with him. And, no, you don’t need previous experience on council to be a good mayor.

Remember the enormity of what Hamer-Jackson accomplished; he knocked off three sitting councillors and a former councillor. It’s never happened before.

This is going to be an interesting four years. The demand for change didn’t go beyond the mayoralty. Three incumbent councillors — Bill Sarai, Bass and Mike O’Reilly — who have been unable to wrestle the problems on the street to the ground were re-elected.

Elected, too, was Kelly Hall, who touched on the Big Issue during the campaign but focused heavily on what he knows best — promoting business development. Katie Neustaeter, who topped the polls, is an articulate speaker who thankfully doesn’t intersperse her comments with “sort ofs” and “kindas” and “likes” but didn’t have a discernible platform that I noticed.

Margot Middleton, Nancy Bepple and Stephen Karpuk, who fill out the new slate, will probably make good members of council but none can be considered particularly strong advocates of cleaning up the streets.

Candidates who took a strong line on the issue as Hamer-Jackson did, failed to make the cut. I was particularly surprised that Darpan Sharma, who emphasized integrity issues along with concerns that align with Hamer-Jackson, wasn’t among the eight who were chosen. In my view, he ran one of the best campaigns of anyone — not only did he achieve an effective media presence, but he was the only candidate for councillor I heard who very clearly outlined what he’d do to back up his ideas with actions. And he promised to self-impose a two-term limit on himself, and to publish a report card on his own promises.

Yet, Hamer-Jackson alone was chosen based on his willingness to fight the fight. Voters apparently didn’t want wholesale change. They just wanted change at the top.

Hamer-Jackson has a heavy burden to bear. He deserves a chance to succeed where others have failed.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

—

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.