Kamloops

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...

Mr. Open Pitbelly plans to make Ajax Mine proposal a Kamloops election issue

KAMLOOPS - The proposed Ajax Mine will definitely be an issue in the upcoming Kamloops municipal election campaign because Mr. Open Pitbelly has thrown her hat into the ring. Artist and master gardner Elaine Sedgmen will officially announce her intention to run for the mayor's chair on Monday. Sedgman will be running as the costumed character...

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...

Can Kamloops beat Kelowna?

KAMLOOPS - What better way to increase voter turnout than by placing a wager on it? Coun. Arjun Singh is a supporter of the Kamloops 50 initiative, a group looking to increase voter turnout in the November election to 50 per cent from just under 30 per cent as happened in 2011, and he's extending...

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...

Speed dating for candidate support

KAMLOOPS - If it works for dating why not for candidate endorsement? The Kamloops and District Labour Council chose to use a ‘speed dating’ style evening to interview city council candidates this week. Barb Nederpel, first vice president of the council, says they had five city council candidates and one school board trustee candidate attend...

Candidate pro-business, anti-Ajax

KAMLOOPS - A candidate for Kamloops city council says he can provide the fresh eyes needed to help promote innovative ideas for the city. Andrew Miller questions decisions made by the current council, from parking kiosks to the temporary tax office and the pay increase. “I believe it is the duty of each and every...

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...

What does a school board trustee do?

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Most people have heard of a school board, and school trustees, but what exactly is the role of a trustee? Nominations have opened in advance of the municipal elections throughout the province on Nov. 15. Keep in mind that school districts are a huge employers with big, taxpayer-funded budgets, so even if you...

ELECTIONS 2014: Let the filing begin

KAMLOOPS - Today is the day the civic elections really get rolling. It is the first day nomination papers can be filed for anyone interested in running for city council, regional director or school trustee. Nomination papers must be filed between Sept. 30 and Oct. 10 at City Hall and by Oct. 20 the candidates...