We’re in for some changes to Kamloops City council

Back on Oct. 17 I predicted who would win, who would be close and who would lose. I hedged a little bit, but my predictions for tomorrow haven’t changed much.

Peter Milobar will retain his seat as mayor, though somewhat chastened by the good showing of Dieter Dudy. He certainly won’t get the 74 per cent he likes to boast about, which he got three years ago.

Brian Alexander and Gordon Chow will be far down the list.

But while the mayor will remain the same, we’re in for some big changes. Three incumbents aren’t in the running. Two more incumbents will be dropped. That means there will be five new members of council, almost as many as in 1999.

The reason two incumbents will lose has much to do with the controversies the council has encountered in the past year, which in turn are, in large part, due to the leadership of the mayor. That will mean Milobar has to look to his own style during the coming term.

It should take about 10 minutes after the polls close at 8 p.m. Saturday night to confirm Milobar’s win, because there’s seldom much variation from one polling station to another. It will take another half hour or a little longer to figure out who will serve with him as councillors.