The story of the last four years at Kamloops city hall has been centred on its chaotic mayor, but while he has proven himself a unique figure in the city’s political history, in some ways, so has the councillor who has been inexplicably in his camp’s sights for four years.

Coun. Katie Neustaeter is unflinching in the face of Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson’s antics at the council table and behind. She’s not the only one and she’s not the only one to pay a price — many have been the targets of harassment. But the vitriol for Neustaeter has been noticably different and amplified, putting her in a unique position.

“I would guess that getting sued by your own mayor twice is likely unprecedented. And how many city councillors in their first term have had to defend free, responsible, political speech in BC Supreme Court and won?” she said.

Hamer-Jackson and his unprecedented mayoral record have long been the main character in the saga of Kamloops council’s chaos, but Neustaeter’s term has been almost equally as unique.

Anyone who has followed the chaos between the mayor and the eight councillors, frequently referred to as the “hateful eight” by Hamer-Jackson’s supporters, has seen his combative behaviour toward staff and councillors throughout the term.

In the midst of that, she has faced online harassment for the last four years, often dubbed “Princess Katie” in social media circles, but the extent it has gone beyond social media isn’t something she was willing to reveal.

“When you cross over into the real world, there are other consequences that can’t necessarily be spoken about as freely as online harm… If it’s on the record, I don’t think I can say much more,” she said.

She and other councillors suggest the harassment they face often comes when they’re seen as combative with Hamer-Jackson and Neustaeter gets the worst of it.

Coun. Dale Bass said Neustaeter has been subjected to “horrifically misogynistic” emails, while Coun. Mike O’Reilly said women on city council “undoubtedly” face more vitriol.

Women in politics often face greater safety concerns over men and while there have not been overt examples of violence in Kamloops, it hasn’t been restricted to simply rude comments on social media.

“I’ve had death threats. My husband has been worried about my safety during this term, and that isn’t fair to my family,” Bass said.

On more than one occasion, some councillors have been escorted to their vehicles from city hall due to threats. The first was after an anonymous threat in 2024 suggested “it’s not going to end well” for councillors and that their addresses were known. Council cut the public inquiries section of their meetings this term after it became increasingly common for the audience to jeer and heckle councillors and the final straw came when someone Zoom-bombed the meeting with a pornography video over the livestream.

There have been changes at city hall in the past four years in response to potential safety risks. New security measures have included checkpoints before entering council chambers and a bylaw officer sits inside to monitor meetings.

While in the cramped council chambers room, some staff and councillors are vigilant, monitoring who is in attendance and their exits if needed.

“The pattern is there, they target anyone who challenges the mayor,” O’Reilly said, who added that some of the city hall safety measures, without going into detail, have also been imposed to protect staff.

For Neustaeter, she found herself the chief target for Hamer-Jackson early in the term and, as a result, also of online harassment both on social media and directly to her inbox.

“If the consequence is I don’t have universal approval, well that’s fine with me. That’s the nature of politics,” she said.

She added that city councillors haven’t targeted each other at any point throughout the term and, instead, the mayor remains the common denominator.

When he lost his attempt to sue Neustaeter for defamation, Justice Jaqueline Hughes said Hamer-Jackson was using litigation to “target (Neustaeter) as a political adversary” and was not convinced his reputation was unduly harmed.

Hughes said the lawsuit had a “chilling” effect on Neustaeter’s ability to speak publicly. It also provided fodder for Hamer-Jackson and his supporters as she was criticized for speaking out against the mayor and for having her legal defence funded by tax dollars.

City councillors, including O’Reilly who is running to take Hamer-Jackson’s seat, say they expect the harassment will likely cool off should someone else be elected.

“I remain very hopeful that with good leadership restored, you will also see good order restored,” Neustaeter said.