The costs keep climbing for the mayor of Kamloops as he faces thousands of dollars in court costs for a defamation lawsuit he launched.

Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson is on the hook for $5,000 in damages to Coun. Katie Neustaeter, along with potentially more than $250,000 in legal fees.

“I was targeted by Reid (Hamer-Jackson), there is no doubt about that,” Neustaeter said. “The judge made it incredibly clear and damages put an even finer point on it.”

Neustaeter is now the first politician in Canada to be awarded damages after winning an anti-SLAPP case, which is a type of court application used to strike down frivolous defamation claims.

Earlier this year, Justice Jacqueline Hughes found Hamer-Jackson was attempting to silence a critic and Neustaeter’s right to speak publicly was not overruled by any potential damage to the mayor’s reputation. On Oct. 2, she issued a decision on damages and legal costs.

City hall has been paying Neustaeter’s legal fees throughout the case because the claims centred on her job as a city councillor, but Hamer-Jackson will have to pay back the funds. While there’s also an ongoing appeal and another outstanding lawsuit he filed against her, Neustaeter estimates it could be more than $250,000.

His defamation claim was focused on a statement Neustaeter made at city hall in which he was accused of breaching “personal and professional boundaries.” While it was a joint council statement, he had attempted multiple times to contact Neustaeter’s father, Kevin Krueger.

Krueger later told iNFOnews.ca he had initially contacted the mayor, but he had a change of heart and opted to keep his distance from Hamer-Jackson.

In her Oct. 2 decision, Hughes said Hamer-Jackson continued issuing improper subpoenas to Krueger. It was one factor hampering the long-delayed case and Neustaeter added Krueger was being held in the hospital under the Mental Health Act at the time.

Hughes found Neustaeter suffered anxiety, stress and fear for her own and her family’s safety due to the lawsuit.

“I find that the actual harm suffered by the defendant goes beyond the typical harm associated with being named as a defandant in a defamation claim,” Hughes said in her decision.

Hamer-Jackson may file an appeal on the costs decision.

Asked whether she’s concerned about facing similar treatment if Hamer-Jackson is re-elected this month, or whether another councillor might, Neustaeter said outright dismissed the possibility.

“I have more faith in the public than to re-elect Hamer-Jackson,” she said.

iNFOnews.ca was not able to reach Hamer-Jackson for comment.

The lawsuit is just one of several outstanding bills, adding to hundreds of thousands of dollars, weighing down on Hamer-Jackson, who is running against five opponents in the upcoming municipal election.