Kamloops mayor claims victory, refuses to play nicely

The mayor of Kamloops got his wish after several failed attempts to audit supportive housing facilities, but he still resents council’s input that adjusted his proposal.

A day after voting against his own motion, Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson considers council’s approval a “win.”

“I hope they implement some of my motion in there because that’s what I want … It’s better than nothing. I don’t know what they’re going to come up with, but I think it’s very clear what I want,” the mayor told iNFOnews.ca.

Experienced politicians say the job at city council involves debate and compromise. Once that’s over, their job, especially the mayor’s, is to respect the decision and move forward. For Hamer-Jackson, he remains unwilling to relent, even after three years on council and successfully seeing through his primary campaign promise.

“Look at the council. This council didn’t vote for me and it’s very obvious,” he said. “I don’t care what (councillor) Kelly Hall said. I don’t care what (councillor) Margot Middleton said. I don’t care. They didn’t vote for me.”

His notice of motion proposed council lobby the province to launch an “independent performance audit” of BC Housing-funded supportive housing facilities and shelters in the city. It also proposed he be appointed as the primary spokesperson in charge of the city’s lobbying effort.

It’s something he has long wanted and campaigned on before the 2022 election. Though it has been voted down in the past and the previous BC Minister for Housing Ravi Kahlon has said it won’t happen, it caught traction at a city council meeting, Nov. 4.

But, council’s debate resulted in some changes. He was removed as the appointed spokesperson, his chosen terminology of “drug housing” was removed, and the motion was expanded to include the province instead of just Kamloops. It will also have council’s own public safety-focused committee write the letter, asking the mayor to assist.

Those amendments changed Hamer-Jackson’s tune and he was the sole vote against the motion. Then he said he wouldn’t help any further as councillors took their own direction.

Former BC mayors observing the past three years at Kamloops city council from afar say Hamer-Jackson’s behaviour runs counter to what’s expected of the position.

“It’s unfortunate the mayor, if he doesn’t get his way, wants to take his his marbles and not play fair anymore,” former Langley mayor Peter Fassbender said.

Fassbender, who served several years in local government and as municipal affairs minister under Premier Christy Clark, was briefly appointed to advise Kamloops city council through their dysfunction. He was mysteriously ousted from the job.

He said it’s a mayor’s “responsibility” to respect a council’s majority vote, move on and represent the collective decision rather than to “hold grudges.”

“I’m not sure every mayor fully embraces that. I know Reid Hamer-Jackson quite well… What is obvious to me today is those efforts by myself and (former mayor of Abbotsford Henry Braun) were not successful,” he said.

Former Kamloops mayor Ken Christian said there were many times when a council vote didn’t go his way. There were also many times he would later come to find council’s vote was the correct one, despite his initial disagreement.

“You really should park your ego at the door when you go in and do what’s best for the City of Kamloops, or whatever city you’re representing,” he said.

Regardless of his personal vote, Christian saw his job as a “quarterback” tasked with steering council discussion and council meetings. With no more votes than anyone else on council, it still required “political savvy” to win over at least four councillors at the nine-person table.

“It’s not very good if you see yourself as the official opposition to the corporation of the City of Kamloops. It’s very inconsistent with the way legislation puts the mayor in place,” he said. “You have to be the quarterback and quite often you have a wide receiver drop the ball, but you go back to them. That’s just the way the mayor has to be. You have to rise above the fray.”

Hamer-Jackson seem to see himself as that opposition, but he asserts it’s because he represents what “the community” wants and because “it’s obvious” the rest of council didn’t vote for him.

Asked about how he views his role when he disagrees with a council decision, Hamer-Jackson said he goes “by the will of the community.”

“Obviously this council is a lot different … Hopefully with the will of council we’ll get something out there that the citizens want,” he said.

The mayor said he won’t be assisting with drafting the letter as his initial motion clearly stated what he wanted to lobby the province for.

“I don’t know what they’re going to come up with, but I think it’s very clear what I’m looking for as the mayor of Kamloops — as the real mayor,” Hamer-Jackson said.