File photo (Image credit: CFJC Today).

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Councillors’ claim to be ‘City council’ is the height of arrogance

Aug 9, 2023 | 5:08 AM

THERE’S SO MUCH FODDER in what goes on at Kamloops City Hall that one could write about it every day. I try not to do it two days in a row, but this week requires it.

Yesterday, I wrote that the City needs to plug its leaky ship, investigate who is responsible for releasing confidential information, and deal with that person (or persons) accordingly. In the context of that issue, the editorial touched on a so-called “Statement from Kamloops City Council” that was issued last Friday.

That statement came on the heels of a confidential report getting into the hands of Kamloops This Week. Later yesterday, Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson issued his own statement saying he “neither approved nor authorized” the one from Friday.

This confirms a couple of things. One is that the “Statement from Kamloops City Council” wasn’t a statement from Kamloops City council at all. While it was issued with the City’s logo at the top and was probably agreed to by the eight City councillors, they do not constitute City council.

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The council consists of eight councillors and the mayor, who says he wasn’t involved in it, so their statement should have made that clear.

For the councillors to consider themselves the council is the height of arrogance — they’re just eight individuals pretending to be more than they actually are.

The other thing that strikes me is the content of the so-called “Statement from Kamloops City Council” that goes into several things it says have been accomplished. There’s nothing at all new in those items so I won’t delve into them here but the claim that “Kamloops City Council (is) Forging Ahead” is consistent with a strategy by the councillors to convince the public they’re doing their job. It sounds so needy, even desperate.

Whatever you might think of the job being done by Mayor Hamer-Jackson, the actions of the councillors in undermining him are really quite disgusting.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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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.