ROTHENBURGER – Things are seriously out of order around council horseshoe
(Image: CFJC Today)
‘YOU’RE OUT OF ORDER! You’re out of order! The whole trial is out of order! They’re out of order!”
That’s from one of my favourite Al Pacino movie speeches. I have many favourite Al Pacino movie speeches — that one’s from And Justice For All, a courtroom drama released in 1979.
It came to mind as I watched this week’s Kamloops City council meeting, which had very little order. It was, you could say, pretty much out of order.
Just as there must be order in the court, there must be order around the council horseshoe for good decisions to be made. The ultimate decision on 48 Victoria Street West was borne out of disorder, and it serves as a good example of why God made rules of order.
It started well enough. In anticipation of a motion from Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson that staff draw up a review of operations and a possible relocation of the storage facility used by the homeless along Victoria Street West, several people stood to speak during the Public Inquiries section of the agenda.
Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops, alternate TNRD director and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
The problem is not really RHJ. The problem is all others who made plentiful of misguided and misleading campaign promises and are now failing to present any solution.
If anything, the previous “leadership” should be made to answer some pointed questions which I believe were even brought up from the gallery by an ex-councillor. Scapegoating RHJ will do absolutely nothing to move the city forward.
I guess this was a predictable mess. Failure definitely not an orphan here, but perhaps RHJ should choose motions in the beginning which try to build bridges with his council and try to find a middle ground. The problem, which began when he was elected, is that he has very little political capital to spend, and lobbing petrol bombs isn’t exactly helping to bridge the ideological chasm between him and the rest of council.
Excerpts from an email I sent to the Mayor and a senior staffer regarding this last meeting. No reply yet.
“However, on Tuesday afternoon, the term “perceived conflict” was used. I wonder how far this one will go? Our Mayor lives in Kamloops so does that mean we are going to be faced with the question of perceived conflict every time our Mayor opens his mouth or tries to go forward on anything?
Then he was faced with a barrage from one of the councillors about the process that could be taken to have him removed from office. This was not called for in a public meeting and it borders on……….
………………As a result of this last meeting, I have dissolved a long time friendship with a person. That person came out with the remark “the Mayor should man-up”. That remark was a direct result of what transpired at the meeting and the Mayor supposedly acting like a coward………
Maybe there is a way out of this. Perhaps a third party mediator. Perhaps some advice could be given that not everyone is happy with the outcome of an election but being a democracy, we have to live with it. Maybe there are people unhappy that certain candidates were voted to a position on council.”
What a read! So perhaps the newbie mayor has highlighted some other serious, ingrained deficiencies. I personally need to thank you Mel for writing such informative pieces. I also wonder, where you the only experienced media person present at that meeting?