Kamloops council asked municipal affairs minister for help with controversial mayor

Kamloops city council had used up all its options to rein in the city’s controversial mayor, but he remained undeterred so they reached out to the municipal affairs minister.

Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson has numerous restrictions against him, his salary has been cut nearly in half and he has mounting legal bills. In a letter to Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon, council pleaded for help.

The February 13 letter was accompanied by more than 400 pages of legal documents, correspondence and news stories documenting two years of Hamer-Jackson’s mayorship released by the city, Monday.

“Minister Kahlon, you have the unique opportunity and authority to introduce legislative amendments that would provide municipalities with much-needed tools to address the conduct of rogue elected officials,” the letter signed by councillor Nancy Bepple read. “It is imperative that safeguards exist to ensure municipalities can protect their staff and function effectively when faced with extreme cases such as ours.”

The letter and attached documents were published in full June 9, listing Hamer-Jackson’s misconduct and its consequences in eight broad categories.

Bepple’s letter said Hamer-Jackson has repeatedly mistreated staff, breached privacy and confidentiality rules, disregarded his duties and caused escalating and “unacceptable” legal costs to taxpayers, exceeding $1 million by February.

“This untenable situation has highlighted the limited ability of current legislation to address such scenarios, leaving municipalities with insufficient tools to protect their operations, staff and taxpayers from the harmful and expensive actions of one rogue elected official,” the letter read.

Hamer-Jackson’s access to confidential documents is strictly monitored, his salary was cut by 40 per cent, he is barred from “unescorted” interactions with staff and is no longer recognized as the City’s official spokesperson, according to the letter.

Despite WorkSafeBC and BC Privacy Commissioner investigations and reviews, their respective legislation bars them from taking “direct action” against Hamer-Jackson, according to the letter.

“The cumulative impact of Mayor Hamer-Jackson’s misconduct cannot be overstated. The City’s ability to govern effectively has been severely hindered, and our residents — the very electorate we serve — are effectively powerless to rein in the misconduct of one bad actor,” the letter read.

The letter sent to Kahlon was an update on the dysfunctional relationship between Hamer-Jackson and the rest of council following a report from ministerial advisory Henry Braun, who found the mayor was at the centre of the strife.

He offered recommendations for council and for Hamer-Jackson, but the mayor has so far dismissed those recommendations and has attempted to discredit Braun’s report.

Kahlon responded to Bepple more than a month later, but he stopped short of making promises.

“As you likely know, legislative amendments take time, and require substantial effort to ensure they effectively address the issues. I recognize the importance of this matter to the City and applaud the council for the leadership it has shown during this term,” his March 28 response read.

Kahlon visited Kamloops in April where he attended a closed-door meeting with city council. He couldn’t convince Hamer-Jackson, who hasn’t sat in a closed meeting since last August, to join.

Last fall, the Union of BC Municipalities released a discussion paper exploring the merits of bolstered tools for local governments to deal with so-called rogue politicians. It cited potential changes to BC law like a standardized and mandatory code of conduct policy, which would strengthen what’s already a new policy for BC municipalities.

Kamloops city council alone has seen more than two dozen code of conduct investigations with three ending with sanctions for Hamer-Jackson.