Image: CFJC Today / File

By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Who’s been the best Mayor?

Dec 23, 2022 | 6:58 AM

I’VE BEEN IN KAMLOOPS since 1970, and during that time, there have been a number of Mayors who have led our community.

In light of the current controversy at City Hall, I thought it would be interesting to see what others thought about who best filled the mayor’s seat in Kamloops.

There are only three journalists who have been here since the early 1970s, two came in 1970, one in 1973. I asked them to give me their top three or four choices. These are mostly subjective, but a little objectivity is thrown in too. And interestingly enough, several of the choices were similar.

Cliff Branchflower was at the top of one list, described as not overly progressive, but firm in his leadership. That list had Peter Milobar as a strong number two, leading the City through some turbulent times. Mike Latta and Mel Rothenburger rounded out that list.

A second list had Rothenburger on top, followed by Peter Wing and Mike Latta. Wing, the first Mayor of Chinese descent, was the Mayor right after Kamloops and North Kamloops amalgamated. There were obvious growing pains, and Wing, a gracious and gentle man, helped heal a lot of the divisiveness.

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During Latta’s time, Kamloops moved forward very rapidly. A lot of the beauty of the City, with the gardens, parks, etc., happened during Latta’s time in the Mayor’s chair.

The same with Rothenburger. He had a steady hand on the reins, and there was much accomplished. Mel had a good vision for the City and helped guide council to achieving those goals.

The third list had Milobar on top, followed by Latta, Wing and Rothenburger. In fairness, virtually every Mayor contributed to the City’s growth.

Al Thompson led the Council immediately after the NDP amalgamated the entire area into one City in the early 70’s. Al has many stories about those early days.

Ken Christian had to deal with similar turbulent issues. Terry Lake, Kenna Cartwright, Gordon Nicol, John Dormer, all have their supporters too.

It’s just interesting that three journalists, asked out of the blue for their opinions, had somewhat similar thoughts.

Feel free to give us your favourites, and your reasons, too.

Of course, advancements in Kamloops weren’t all the Mayors’ doing. The makeup of the Council, as well as the vision of City staff, also contributed greatly.

And to end today, let’s not forget the two characters who I haven’t mentioned yet. Phil Gaglardi was out of his element as Mayor. His legacy is his monumental work as a Provincial Minister. It just wasn’t the same in the more constrained area of civic politics.

Jim Walsh was another character who struggled in the transition from business to politics, but his heart was in the right place and he had the City’s interests at heart.

So there we go. Some thoughts from some elder statesmen (statesmen might be a bit presumptuous) on over 50 years of City leadership. We’ve had some interesting times, and it looks like there will be a lot more ahead.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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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.