Image: CFJC Today / File

By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: First quarter report on Kamloops City Council

Jan 29, 2023 | 5:00 AM

NOTHING.

That’s what City Council has accomplished in its first quarter. And it is not likely to get better.

Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson has, in my humble opinion, been less than effective as a leader. He has failed to build a team, and there is definitely a wall between himself and council.

My take at this point is that he has very little support around the council table. These are obviously just my observations, but I see nothing positive so far.

He has had individual meetings with Councillors, none of which seem to have gone well. There is obvious friction between himself and Chief Administrative Officer David Trawin and City staff are jittery, to say the least.

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The Mayor has been quoted as saying he has built many teams in his career. I have been building strong teams in both my work and in sports over the past fifty-plus years, and this kind of “divide and conquer” approach just doesn’t cut it.

The Mayor’s job, under the Community Charter, is to lead. To find ways to move forward. The Mayor is obligated to be the face of council at various events, not send a delegate. The Mayor is obligated to preside at Council meetings, all of them, unless he is ill or has some other legitimate excuse. The Mayor is to build bridges, not walls. None of that appears to be happening.

The Mayor’s latest plan is to invite defeated council candidates to provide input into this week’s strategic planning sessions. Really? Are we serious? The Mayor says some of these candidates may have some good ideas. And he may be right. But there is already a process in place for public input and that’s where these defeated candidates should be heard.

The Mayor needs to realize the ideas the public has bought into, are those of the eight people around the council table. The Mayor was elected because he had ideas the public bought into, particularly on the matter of community safety. He touched a nerve with the electorate. But getting consensus on his ideas requires skillful leadership, and I haven’t seen that yet.

On December 13th, Christopher Foulds of Kamloops This Week wrote a great column entitled “Can A Disaster be averted at Kamloops City Hall?” In the column, Foulds described a conversation last August with someone in tune with voters. The man said that Hamer-Jackson might well win the election, but he apparently told Foulds “if he does, it will likely be a f…..ng disaster.” Enough said. I just hope, Chris, that your remarks in that column don’t turn out to be the defining legacy of this Council’s term.

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.