File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Get used to the ongoing stupidity at Kamloops City Hall

Dec 17, 2023 | 6:00 AM

CITY HALL IS THE HOME of the biggest travesty in many years. What a bloody disaster. The mayor playing stupid games with council; council ganging up on the mayor. City staff seemingly playing their own games. Lawsuits, accusations, the list goes on.

The latest issue came up at council this week. Mayor Hamer-Jackson was ordered to remove an eyesore from his business on West Victoria Street. It’s a vehicle that has been torched twice in the last year. It is now covered with graffiti. The city wanted it removed. The mayor, continuing his diatribe about being picked on, said he wouldn’t. Eventually on Thursday, the city towed the vehicle.

There are a few issues here. Was the vehicle an eyesore? Absolutely. And the mayor, the face of the city, did a disservice to his community by leaving the vehicle in a spot where anyone visiting the city would wonder what kind of place they’re visiting — and being an unsettling influence for residents who get nervous about rising crime.

Come on, Mr. Mayor. Cut out these games. You should have just got rid of the damn car. What is your point here? What would you like council to do?

While we need the support of the RCMP and the Community Service Officers, they cannot sit at the mayor’s place of business 24-7 to try to catch some vandals.

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If the mayor wants security, he needs to hire a security firm. There are some good ones in the city. My company and many others have security firms and unfortunately, it’s the way of the world these days. Crime, whether it is vandalism or major crime, is rising quickly. Whether it’s a need to stay warm or find drug money, or fights between criminal organizations trying to control higher-end crime, we have come to a point where individual property owners have to look out for themselves. In this world, it’s become a cost of doing business, just like higher cost for supplies and wages. But the Mayor’s expectations that someone else is responsible for looking after his problems is just illogical and ill-founded. So Mr. Mayor, you should have done the right thing. You’re not doing anyone a favour, least of all yourself, with this kind of behaviour.

One final note, and this is in defense of the mayor. With due respect to our fire chief, can we honestly say this car is a fire hazard? It’s been torched twice. What’s left to burn? If the mayor parks it too close to his business, that’s his problem. But if the fire chief took a drive around, I’m sure he would find a lot worse fire hazards than the mayor’s car sitting all by itself in a car lot.

The mayor isn’t the only one playing “silly bugger” here. It’s become infectious.

Perhaps an appropriate Christmas gift would be to give the mayor, councillors and senior staff a roll of duct tape for them to use. It would certainly be worth the investment.

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.