ROTHENBURGER: Conflict rules for City councillors a case of ‘if it ain’t broke’

CONFLICT OF INTEREST rules are something no politician wants to run afoul of. It can cost them their job. That’s why they tend to be extra-careful, even overly careful, about conflict situations.

At the same time, the public is distrustful of politicians and ever watchful of anything that might smack of a conflict.

A local Facebook forum called Politics Kamloops drew my attention this week to a proposal it has put forward on that very subject, and it’s worth discussing.

Politics Kamloops has been around for a couple of years and consists mostly of re-posted anti-Trudeau, anti-politician, right-wing material. I like these pages — Kamloops Discussion Nexus is another one — regardless of their political leanings because they bring a more rational discussion to issues than the usual social-media trolling.

The post to which I was alerted is original to the PK page and declares the need for better conflict-of-interest guidelines for City councillors. The author says the purpose of the proposal is “to avoid any future perceived conflicts.”

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Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.