The upcoming Kamloops arts centre played a central role in this week’s mayoral debate, and candidates found room to disagree despite unanimous agreement in seeing the venue through.

Mike O’Reilly and Nelly Dever took each other to task over their roles in the long road to getting the project started, with the former describing her past record as standing against funding arts programs.

“There’s a track record of not supporting the arts with capital investments in our facilities,” O’Reilly said at a Sept. 23 mayoral candidate forum.

All six candidates for mayor attended the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce sponsored forum. It was their first chance on the campaign to go head-to-head.

Big spending at city hall and new amenities were some of their most-discussed issues, but they all said they wanted to see projects like the performing arts centre built, whether to promote local arts, boost tourism or attract new residents.

At issue was the form that project takes and how it’s funded.

At $211 million in estimated construction costs, the project was years in the making and two previous city councils have been trying to build it since 2015. Dever was deeply involved in the first effort, but she didn’t promote the then-$49 million facility.

She led a campaign against the performing arts centre when it was denied in a referendum a decade ago and she welcomed petitioners to her business property when it was proposed again in 2024, O’Reilly said.

“I think Mike and I could go back and forth on this all night,” she said, denying she opposed the facility and instead promoted a public-private partnership in an attempt to save taxpayer funds.

It’s a model she continues to promote in her current campaign, suggesting the arts centre could be built taller to include a privately-owned hotel, for example.

O’Reilly touted his efforts in seeing the performing arts project built and the economic spin-offs for downtown that would follow.

Incumbent mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson returned to his previous demands for seeking grants to back the project, while also challenging the proposed downtown location.

O’Reilly, Dever and incumbent Reid Hamer-Jackson also sparred over the use of counter petitions, or the alternative approval process, to get taxpayer approval of multi-million-dollar loans. O’Reilly stood by the decision to do so for the arts centre and other big projects, while Dever and Hamer-Jackson disagreed.

Hamer-Jackson said Kamloops voters have had enough counter petitions, while Dever was among a few who said it should have only been used on critical infrastructure and utilities, rather than an arts venue.

“Lack of transparency and timing of the (counter petition), it came across as very strategic… It’s not just what it’s being used for but it’s how it’s being used. That’s where the controversy is lying,” she said.

Ivory Winston backed arts funding, but he said the counter petition was “flawed” and controversial.

Kris Lloyd-Middleton suggested city hall should invest in small, scattered arts facilities and venues, but she did not answer directly how the counter petition process should be used in the future.

Ray Dhaliwal called for city hall to subsidize artists to entice performances in Kamloops, but he said the counter petition should only be used for “core” infrastructure projects.

The debate can be viewed in full on YouTube, where council and mayoral candidates pitched their proposals to Kamloops voters.

Election day is Saturday, Oct. 17.