CANDIDATE PROFILE: Nelly Dever

Over the last decade, I have focused my corporate consulting experience on project management, design, permitting, engineering consultation, and personnel management. This background allowed me to help guide meaningful local projects, including the major commercial area revitalization at 1200 Eighth Street and the construction of the new Tim Hortons.

My heart has always been in community service. Whether working alongside dedicated teams to successfully complete the Marjorie Willoughby Snowden Hospice expansion in 2019 or collaborating with local business partners to raise over $2 million for vital organizations like the Hospice, Christmas Amalgamated, and the Search, Recovery, Detection K9s of BC, I have learned that real progress happens when we work together. My previous term as a Kamloops city councillor (2011–2014) further solidified my respect for collaborative governance and public engagement, where I authored the platform and spearheaded the motion and task force to launch the Tranquille/Airport Gateway project.

I am anchoring the Pivot Kamloops team to bring stable, proven governance to move past years of gridlock at city hall. My goal is to bring the ACT principles (Accountability, Communication, and Transparency) back to city hall. I want to combine collaborative governance with business-minded fiscal discipline to ensure safe streets, build a thriving, united future where every resident feels heard, restore public trust, and protect taxpayer dollars.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing the City of Kamloops and how would you use your elected position to address it?

The most critical challenge is the dual crisis of fiscal mismanagement, marked by steep property tax increases and rising municipal debt, and escalating street disorder. While the new RCMP station is a necessity for public safety, it should have been prioritized ahead of the costly Build Kamloops initiatives. Utilizing the alternative approval process (AAP) to borrow millions on a highly contentious issue which previously failed in a referendum was a strategic move that intentionally suppressed the public’s voice.

These sequential choices risk landing Kamloops in a staggering debt of $445.7 million by 2030, all while failing to adequately address street disorder, wildfire preparedness, or core infrastructure needs.

As mayor, I will implement our team’s core ACT principles to prioritize core infrastructure and essential services first. To enhance community safety, we will launch an intergovernmental community safety centre, co-locating RCMP, Community Safety Officers (CSOs), and clinical professionals to remove communication and operational inefficiencies.

We will aggressively advocate for an involuntary care facility, expand CSO zones, and re-evaluate funding structures for low-barrier, transitional, and dry housing. Simultaneously, we will execute our co-build initiative and public-private partnerships to make our city safer and more affordable, while uniting with mayoral task forces across British Columbia to demand systemic provincial reform on healthcare, housing, and mental health.

Following a term highlighted by infighting and tension at city hall that impacted Kamloops’ public image, how would you ensure civil discourse and good governance would take place between yourself, fellow elected officials and city staff?

I am running as the “chief stabilizer” of Pivot Kamloops. We operate on a “big tent” collaborative philosophy; our team includes independent thinkers representing diverse backgrounds, including Green, Conservative, and union perspectives, who have united under a signed pledge to work constructively. Having previously served as a city councillor, I fully understand how a healthy council is supposed to function. Recognizing the strain and gridlock at city hall over the past term. I understood it would require a team of experienced community leaders to come together and be able to hit the ground running on day one. We are ready to leave our egos at the door, put the community first, lead by example, and utilize the professional skill sets required to work constructively with any other elected officials.

I will lead by example to ensure council debates ideas openly, professionally, and respectfully. By re-establishing clear lines of communication, treating city staff with professional respect, and focusing entirely on the best interests of the community, we will restore a collaborative culture and repair the public image of Kamloops city hall through governance excellence.

Considering recent years of large municipal tax increases in Kamloops, how would you address the city’s tax rate going forward?

We must stabilize property taxes by bringing city spending under much tighter scrutiny. Taxpayers cannot continuously be treated as an open chequebook.

I will ensure we evaluate every major project for cost savings and actively pursue senior government grants and alternative funding streams to mitigate the financial burden on local residents. We will launch our Co-Build initiative to spread the tax burden on major capital developments, such as the multiplex. Our focus will be on diversifying city revenue streams and getting the basics right first, ensuring we fund critical infrastructure before taking on unmanageable new long-term debt. Secondly, I will launch an immediate internal review of the upper management structure to identify operational inefficiencies.

As major infrastructure projects are on the horizon in Kamloops, how would you prefer the city go about gaining the electorate’s approval – via referendum or the alternative approval process (AAP)? Why?

Every candidate on the Pivot Kamloops team explicitly rejects using the AAP for non-critical infrastructure borrowing. We believe the AAP should strictly be reserved for critical, high-priority municipal infrastructure, while a formal referendum (assent voting) must be used for non-critical lifestyle and cultural initiatives, such as the Build Kamloops projects.

The city’s own historical data proves how radically the local leadership has broken from past precedent. In the 12 historical examples provided by the city between 2003 and 2015, the AAP was used strictly for critical core infrastructure such as water treatment facilities, bridge work, and community policing. Over that 12-year span, the total combined borrowing for all 12 essential projects came to $97.1 million.

In 2024, this city council used the AAP just twice to push through two non-critical projects: the Kamloops Centre for the Arts ($140 million) and the Arena Multiplex ($135 million). In a single year, they utilized this process to clear $275 million in discretionary debt… nearly triple the cost of 12 years of core infrastructure combined. Because the AAP only registers “no” votes, it forces busy residents to physically sign and submit a petition just to protect their pocketbooks. For long-term choices of this massive scale, the public deserves an honest, transparent ballot where both “yes” and “no” are clearly counted. True fiscal oversight means earning the electorate’s explicit approval upfront via a referendum.

What are your thoughts on communication between the City of Kamloops and its residents? Are there areas of improvement you’d like to see?

Communication from city hall has become strained, and meaningful public engagement has dropped significantly. We need a complete pivot back toward transparent, open consultation. Since our campaign launch in May, our Pivot Kamloops team has knocked on over 3,500 doors. In every neighbourhood across Kamloops, we hear the exact same sentiments echoed: “We’ve lost our voice” and “No one is listening to us.”

I will immediately move to restore the public inquiry and engagement sessions that were removed from council proceedings. True transparency means actively listening to the community, maintaining strict open-door policies, and ensuring that residents are consulted before major municipal decisions are finalized. Additionally, I will launch “The Loop Line” — a new, user-friendly digital communication tool designed to keep everyday residents actively in the loop with real-time city hall updates, micro-surveys that shape decisions, and timely alerts on civic matters and events.

by CFJC Today

CANDIDATE PROFILE: Nelly Dever

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