municipal politics
Advance polling sees 56% increase overall
KAMLOOPS - After three days of advance voting more than 2,500 ballots have been cast, an increase of just over 56 per cent from the 2011 civic election. In total 2,526 ballots were cast over the three days, Nov. 5, 6 and 12, where as only 1,615 ballots were cast in 2011 during the three...
ELECTIONS 2014: Online engagement falls short
MANY CANDIDATES RELY ON EVENTS, SIGNS KAMLOOPS - Most city council candidates have a Facebook profile these days, but not all of them seem to know how to effectively use that tool or other online tools to campaign. At least four candidates used GoFundMe pages to help raise money for their campaigns. One hit more...
ELECTIONS 2014: Who, what, where, when and why
KAMLOOPS - In case you’ve been out of the loop, there’s an election going on. In fact, general election day is this weekend. WHO CAN VOTE Canadian citizens who are 18 years of age or older can vote. You must have lived in B.C. for at least six months and in Kamloops for at least...
ELECTIONS 2014: Little change at council table
TWO NEW FACES AT CITY COUNCIL KAMLOOPS - With 32 candidates vying for a council seat and another 15 looking for a Kamloops school trustee seat it has been a busy month of campaigning, but we finally found out who will lead our city for the next four years, and there is not much change. ...
ELECTIONS 2014: Results from around the region
KAMLOOPS - Voters have spoken and while there are only two new faces around the council table in Kamloops there are a slew of new faces around the rest of the region. Council tables in both Clinton and Sun Peaks will remain unchanged with all incumbents unchallenged but in Ashcroft, Barriere, Chase, Lillooet and Merritt...
ELECTIONS 2014: Where did all the voters go?
KAMLOOPS - Voter turnout was up in Kamloops for this year's municipal election — and remains just above the provincial average — but only about a third of eligble voters showed up to cast a ballot. This month 22,672 of the 68,410 eligible voters cast ballots at the advance polls and on Election Day, for a voter...
O’Fee: Election ‘unremarkable’
DEVER LOSS A 'LOSS FOR COUNCIL' KAMLOOPS - A look back at our civic election shows few surprises according to a local lawyer and former city councillor. Only 22,672 people, or just over 33 per cent of eligible voters, actually voted in the 2014 civic election. Those votes saw two new faces elected, but they were...
If students had a say council would look very different
STUDENT VOTE RESULTS IN SIX DIFFERENT COUNCILLORS KAMLOOPS - If city students were able to vote in the recent civic election, we would have seen four new faces around the table and the return of former a councillor. It's quite a result considering 33 per cent of eligible Kamloops voters took to the polls last...
Candidates have up to seven days to remove signs
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The elections are over but there are still some of those brightly-coloured election signs lying around. They should all be gone soon though, candidates are required to remove them by this weekend. The Ministry of Transportation has the strictest regulations, requiring signs to be removed the next working day after the general voting...
New council sworn in
DUDY LOOKS FORWARD TO FIRST TERM KAMLOOPS - A short ceremony Monday night was the first official business of the newly elected city council and with it the first day of a four-year term began. The nine newly-elected council members were led on stage by RCMP members in official red serge and and two bagpipers...
Voters want candidates to be clear over Ajax
KAMLOOPS - The votes are in and of the 200 people who responded to a Kamloops Voters Society survey, 72 per cent want city council candidates to take a clear stance on the proposed Ajax Mine. The Society has released the results of the online poll conducted earlier this month and on many questions there...
ELECTIONS 2014: Candidates take on Ajax
AN OVERVIEW OF WHERE THEY STAND KAMLOOPS - There is a lot of information to sort through as we head into elections, so we decided to make the candidates answer a series of five questions as directly as possible, and in as few characters as possible. Our first question is about the proposed Ajax Mine....
City to voice concerns over pipeline project
KAMLOOPS - The City of Kamloops has been given the opportunity to question the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion and staff plan to take full advantage of the opportunity. Noise, influx of workers during construction and impacts on traffic, infrastructure and parks are among the top concerns, along with the possibility of the newly...
Garbage rates going up in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS - In the new year the average customer will see a $15 increase annually for garbage pick-up over the next three years, but it is the only city utility service where increases will occur in 2015. For single family residential homes an increased cost of fuel and vehicle maintenance of $200,000, combined with an...
Tranquille business owners concerned about bridge repairs
NECESSARY REPAIRS COULD CLOSE MORE BUSINESSES KAMLOOPS - Concerns about traffic flow, loss of business and costs were all aired at an open house discussing the Overlanders Bridge construction project Thursday night but most everyone at the meeting agreed it is a project that needs to be done. Steven Puhallo of the North Shore Business...