City Hall (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

COUNCIL COMMUNICATION

Kamloops mayor defiant as council’s moves to limit his power mount

May 29, 2024 | 5:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — In a news release distributed to media Wednesday (May 29), Kamloops councillor Kelly Hall unveiled resolutions from a closed council meeting on May 14, which include the decision that Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson would no longer speak on behalf of council or the city of Kamloops.

While the city will be issuing a letter to community groups, fellow municipalities, as well as provincial and federal government agencies, those groups are under no legal obligation to follow the new Kamloops communications mandate. Despite that, Deputy Mayor Hall expects the new strategy to pay dividends.

“At the end of the day, what you want is good communication — you want accurate communication. I think with dealing with the deputy mayor and what we have set out in the guidelines, provincially as well as federally, you will find the communication improve and be on a little more timely basis,” said Hall.

Hall noted how when council was discussing the move in the closed meeting, Hamer-Jackson decided to leave — a move the mayor confirmed to be true.

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“It was just starting the meeting and I called a point of order and said, ‘I want legal representation,’ and I said it a couple times, and (Hall) ignored me and he kept talking,” Hamer-Jackson told CFJC News. “And I said, ‘No, I want some legal representation here, okay? I haven’t had a lot of that.’ And so yeah, I left the meeting.”

That meant as of Wednesday afternoon, the mayor had not read the report given to media. Even so the move did not surprise him.

“I’m not surprised at all. Let’s face it — if they could have done it election night in 2022, on October 15, 2022, they would have done it then. It’s pretty obvious they have a communication strategy,” said Hamer-Jackson. “It’s just another thing that they are doing. Like I said, it goes to the media first, I learned from (a local reporter) this morning what was going on. I still haven’t read the report, but I will. [It’s] just another thing.”

The move by council stems from the Henry Braun report, presented to council earlier this month, which spoke to the mayor’s unreliability at public events.

While the mayor was unsure if more limitations could be coming his way from the recommendations, in terms of potential remuneration penalties, that won’t effect his goals.

“I want to make it real clear, I didn’t run for the mayor for the money. I didn’t get in here for the money. I got in here to get a safer community and get accountability. And that is what I am going to continue to do — try to get people better, try to get people in recovery and get a safer community and that is what I am going to continue to do whether I have to do it muzzled or not,” said Hamer-Jackson.

The hope from council’s point of view is that by directing communications through the monthly deputy mayor, the city can better focus on the issues affecting residents.

“It’s just important to understand that the communication for council as well as for the City of Kamloops is critically important to the success of the growth and development of Kamloops,” said Hall. “And we want to make sure that the people of Kamloops understand that this council is very proactive and we want to continue to work on behalf of the community.”

Hall said council is still committed to following through on all the recommendations put forth by Braun but did not state a timeline for further action.