ROTHENBURGER — Good voices being lost at Kamloops City council table
(Image: CFJC)
CHANGE IS COMING to Kamloops City council — more than half the current office-holders will be gone after the Oct. 15 civic election.
Folks who have been crying “Throw the scoundrels out” are indirectly getting their wish even before the voting begins, as most of council is leaving on its own accord or seeking higher office.
While there are some good candidates running to replace them, council is losing some good voices in the trade.
With this week’s announcement by Coun. Denis Walsh that he won’t seek another term, two solid incumbents in particular will be gone from the council table.
The other is Coun. Kathy Sinclair, who decided several months ago she wouldn’t run again.
Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, 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.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
I certainly agree that we will lose a very good counsellor if Dennis Walsh doesn’t run again. We need his insights in order to balance a table that is too often tilted towards yay-sayers rather than the thoughtful nay-sayer. Perhaps, if enough of us appeal to him, he may run once more? I hope so.
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My sentiment at this stage of pre-election fanfare is there are very good chances we will be overall way worse off after the election. Most candidates thus far have latched on to the populist idea of getting tough on the homeless vagrants scumbags. A broad stroke and a wrong one. Council can and should persevere on their role of advocacy in behalf of residents with higher tiers of government and other agencies. But council cannot and never will be able to supersede the police role, the legislative role or the judiciary role despite what the population think they (council) should do. Feeding the disconnect and categorically dispelling it is something that no one running for council has done yet. Mr. Walsh was in my opinion the very best councillor we had and we need more like him, at least four more like him to truly make Kamloops shine. I am afraid it will not happen at least this time around.