Kamloops mayor and councillor announce springtime leaves of absence

KAMLOOPS – Kamloops city council will be getting a little smaller in April.

Mayor Peter Milobar and Coun. Donovan Cavers will both be taking leaves of absence starting April 11 after the final meeting on the city’s budget. The pair, who are both running in the May provincial election, made the announcement at today's, Jan. 31, council meeting.

Both leaves of absence will be unpaid. Due to a break for Easter, only three council meetings are planned for the election campaign period.

Milobar is the B.C. Liberal Party candidate for the Kamloops-North Thompson riding that Terry Lake is vacating. Cavers is running for the provincial Green party in the Kamloops-South Thompson riding.

With Coun. Marg Spina on medical leave to fight cancer, that leaves council with only six members.

The Ajax Mine environmental assessment, which is currently temporarily suspended, may restart during that period, leaving the decision of municipal support to two-thirds of the council. Cavers is against the mine, while Spina and Milobar are both part of the five undecided members of council.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Brendan Kergin or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.