New council will need ‘thick skin’

NEWS/ CITY HALL — The next few years won’t be without controversy and disagreement within the new Kamloops City council, but they can be productive if members focus on the good of the community, Mayor Peter Milobar said Monday night in officially launching the council’s term of office.

He and councillors Ken Christian, Arjun Singh, Dieter Dudy, Donovan Cavers, Denis Walsh, Marg Spina, Tina Lange and Pat Wallace were sworn in at a ceremony before about 60 people in the Parkside Lounge at the Interior Savings Centre.

Milobar, who heads into his third term as mayor after two as councillor, noted that technology has made council members more accessible during the years he’s been at City Hall.

The change from three-year terms to four may present opportunities to accomplish more but it will also raise expectations from the public, he said.

“With that expectation comes a lot more pressure.” He said there’s bound to be friction around the council table but “at the end of the day we’re all here because we want to be.”

Justice Hope Hyslop conducted the swearing in, saying the large number of candidates who sought election this year confirms that people are interested in local government.

She said the incoming council members will need thick skins because “the decisions you make will not satisfy everyone.”

Among those attending the ceremony were friends and family of the new council, as well as former mayors Cliff Branchflower, Terry Lake and Mel Rothenburger, MLA Todd Stone, and Chief Shane Gottfriedson and several councillors from the T’kemlups Indian Band council.