ROTHENBURGER – Anatomy of how council formed a ‘unified team’ against the mayor

‘PUSHY REPORTERS” and showing a united front against Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson were priority concerns of City councillors in the early hours of the now-months long committee mess.

That’s the picture painted in private communications obtained through Freedom of Information applications filed by the Armchair Mayor. The latest chapter in the saga of the committees will play out this coming Tuesday at a regular council meeting but details of behind-the-scenes maneuvering in March provide insights to how it all came about.

As we know now, Hamer-Jackson asked his executive assistant Chrissy Cossentine on March 16 to email members of council with a new list he’d drawn up of committee membership. Very shortly after the emails went out at 12:19 p.m. that day, the list had been passed along to media without his permission, and councillors were internally expressing their concerns.

“Is this a public document,” deputy mayor Kelly Hall asked in an email at 12:34, just 15 minutes after the mayor’s email was sent. “I see the media having a hay day with these changes to standing committees.”

Indeed they did. Hamer-Jackson was suddenly in big demand by reporters looking for comment.

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Mel Rothenburger 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 has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.