election

Labour council president running for city council

KAMLOOPS - The current president of the Kamloops and District Labour Council is the latest to announce his intention to run in the upcoming municipal election. Peter Kerek has been the president of the council since 2011 and earlier this week he used social media to announce his intention to run. The Kamloops Transit employee...

Election season officially here

KAMLOOPS - While current council members and several others have already announced their intention to run for city council this fall they can now make it official. As of this week nomination packages are available at City Hall and online for those wishing to run for mayor, council or school trustee. The packages must be...

Glover looks for city council seat

KAMLOOPS - After 18 years as a school trustee, Annette Glover is looking to make the jump to city councillor in the next election. She made the announcement this week as nomination forms became available for pickup. Glover, a former medical lab technician, has also been involved with different city committees and a volunteer with...

Their dream would put Kamloops voters on top

KAMLOOPS - A group is sharing their dreams of having half of all eligible voters actually vote in the upcoming municipal elections, which would put Kamloops in the top third of all B.C. communities for voter turnout. In 2011 only 29.76 per cent of the more than 65,000 eligible voters in Kamloops cast ballots. In...

Pitbelly for mayor campaign lacks transparency

KAMLOOPS - Mr. Open Pitbelly is the latest to announce candidacy for the November elections, but while Pitbelly is open about three of the key pillars to his election campaign, he admits much of his campaign lacks transparency. “They’re very secret, I will come (forward) with these events through the weeks,” Pitbelly said at a...

Young politician seeks council seat

KAMLOOPS - The former student union president of Thompson Rivers University has tossed his hat in the ring this week in the hopes of adding a more youthful presence to the city council table. Dustin McIntyre recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and works as a community support worker for adults with special...

ELECTION 2014: Innovation changes everything in this campaign

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Knocking on doors, shaking hands, advertising and putting up signs: If you ran for council anytime before the last 10 years, that’s how you got exposure. If you ran in 2011, you probably added Facebook and Twitter to your arsenal. But this year, candidates have all the tools of a major political party...

UPDATE: Bepple wants back on council

KAMLOOPS - Former Coun. Nancy Bepple stepped down from her council seat in March due to health reasons but Wednesday morning she announced her intention to run in the upcoming election. Bepple said her health is now under control and it will not impact her ability to be serve the city. "It was a chronic...

Labour council lending hand to candidates

KAMLOOPS - Several candidates have received endorsement from the Kamloops and District Labour Council after making it through the first round of interviews. Barb Nederpel, the first vice president of the labour council, says after a round of ‘speed dating’ type interviews with several candidates last week they decided to offer endorsement to Peter Kerek,...

THOMPSON: City focus should be on small business

KAMLOOPS - Yes Ajax is a big issue, but small businesses should be where the city focuses resources according to the most recent candidate to announce he is running for a city council seat. Glen Thompson, 51, moved to Kamloops earlier this year. He has been a community activist for most of his life and...

“Head-banging druggie” discussion positive for community, says city councillor

PENTICTON - A controversial comment made by a Penticton city councillor has sparked imaginations in Penticton with the creation of t-shirts, hashtags and Facebook groups with the slogan “head-banging druggie,” but the councillor being targeted sees the backlash as a benefit for the community. Coun. Katie Robinson said, “I’m not a head-banging druggie,” at last week’s...

Miscalculation on election night means a different Armstrong councillor is celebrating

ARMSTRONG - A tallying mistake on election night means an Armstrong woman who thought she’d won a seat on council is getting some bad news. On Saturday night, the City of Armstrong reported Helen Jackson earned 425 votes in the civic election, enough to beat Lance McGregor, with 403 votes, for the sixth councillor seat....

Vernon voters welcome cultural diversity to city hall

"THIS IS AN ACCOMPLISHMENT AND A FEAT" VERNON - Vernon’s rich cultural diversity is being reflected and celebrated on the community’s new city council. In the 2014 civic election, voters elected Akbal Mund for mayor and Dalvir Nahal for city councillor, making them the first individuals of South Asian heritage to sit on Vernon city council....

Outgoing council has tearful goodbye at last council meeting

PENTICTON - There were tears around the council table during the meeting Monday night as goodbye speeches were made by three outgoing members, all of whom have served Penticton for nearly a decade. Coun. John Vassilaki, who has been a councillor for twelve consecutive years, went first, listing council’s accomplishments over the years and giving...

What would happen if the Vernon vote was left up to high school students

VERNON - Vernon’s newly elected council would look a bit different if left up to a group of high school students. According to Student Vote—a province-wide program giving youth under the voting age a chance to learn about democracy and voting—Vernon Secondary School students had some different ideas about who should sit on council. The...