Mayor of Kamloops says he does not intend to resign despite council motion, damning report from adviser

Council has no obligation to follow the recommendations and Braun stated he was not optimistic Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson would abide by the recommendations directed towards him.

“In my opinion, the mayor has shown inflexibility in acknowledging his part in the existing dysfunction within city hall. I have observed the mayor exhibiting a dismissive and condescending attitude toward constructive criticism or the suggestion of apologies, which exacerbates the strained staff relations,” added Braun.

One of the key recommendations to council was to change the code of conduct bylaw to include financial penalties.

“With legal input, amend the code of conduct to include sanctions for repeated offenses with a structured remuneration penalty. For example, for the first infraction, a 10 per cent reduction in salary; the second infraction a 25 per cent (reduction), the third infraction a 50 per cent (reduction), fourth infraction a 75 per cent reduction,” stated Braun.

Following the presentation, Councillor Katie Neustaeter took the opportunity to highlight the divide at city hall and the mostly one-sided recommendations from Braun.

“This is not a dysfunctional council, this is not a dysfunctional council,” repeated Neustaeter. “There is a dysfunctional person, as you have outlined in this specific report. This is a cohesive council moving in the same direction, willing to work on difficult things. This is not a dysfunctional council. This is a high-performing council who has executed on its strategic plan and will continue to.”

Hamer-Jackson questioned the process, noting he hadn’t read through the entire report yet, and couldn’t confirm if he would adhere to the proposals. Instead, he focused on his ongoing issues with city staff.

“I think some,” answered Hamer-Jackson. “But again, like I told Mr. Braun, unless people want to step up to the plate and come clean. Okay, they have come clean, I have this information — it’s just like the Honcharuk file. It will be obvious that he said I was going to get the allegations. Like I told him right from the beginning if somebody doesn’t step up to the plate and tell the truth, then it will probably end up where Councillor Neustaeter said. In a court proceeding,” Hamer-Jackson told CFJC News.

While the mayor may not be willing to quickly adopt the recommendations, council seemingly is.

“We will probably sit down with staff, we will definitely look at the opportunity to take a look at those recommendations and start chipping away at them,” said Deputy Mayor Kelly Hall.

The next regular meeting of Kamloops council is next Tuesday (May 14).

Braun’s report can be found here.

Motion to Resign

With Braun’s report in hand, the eight councillors moved quickly to make their feelings toward the mayor known.

“I would respectively bring forward the following motion to the Committee of the Whole. That the Committee of the Whole call for the mayor of Kamloops, Mayor Reid-Hamer Jackson, to resign his position immediately,” announced Councillor Margot Middleton.

In a surprise move from Councillor Middleton, a non-binding vote was put to the floor of the committee, requesting that the mayor resign his post.

“Unfortunately, after hearing a review of the report and the recommendations, the path forward is perhaps a mountain higher than we will be able to climb,” said Middleton. “Our taxpayers deserve better. Costs related to the discourse, and the mayor’s repeated violations of the Code of Conduct policy, conflict of interest rules, and privacy breaches are already substantial and will most likely climb significantly higher.”

The move from Middleton, which was approved by an 8-1 vote around the horseshoe with only the mayor in opposition, came on the heels of Braun’s report to council.

“The mayor continues to either ignore or undermine any efforts toward good leadership and stewardship. This was further and clearly evidenced last week at the SILGA convention that Kamloops hosted,” added Middleton.

Following the meeting, the mayor made it clear he has no intention of leaving office.

“No plans at all,” stated Hamer-Jackson. “I’m going to continue what I did when I was running for election, and I didn’t make promises, they were goals. I’ve heard certain media people say, ‘Promises, promises.’ I didn’t make promises, I have goals. And those goals are the same to get a safer community and to get accountability.”

The vote was non-binding in nature and the mayor has no obligation to adhere to the adopted motion of city council, but it again shows the growing divide between council and the mayor, just minutes after a report was issued in the hopes of mending that very bridge.

by Michael Reeve

Mayor of Kamloops says he does not intend to resign despite council motion, damning report from adviser

Motion to Resign

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