EDITORIAL – City council’s dysfunction just keeps getting nastier and meaner
(Image: CFJC Today, file photo)
An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.
BY THE TIME Kamloops City council struggled through its latest and longest sad attempt to do the public’s business Tuesday, the world had long since lost interest.
Once again, council proved it’s proficient at three things — over-thinking, over-talking and bickering.
An in camera meeting, regular meeting and public hearings all got tangled up in each other because they all ran too long. It took 12 painful hours.
These people just can’t stop talking. There literally aren’t enough hours in the day for this bunch to get the job done.
As Mayor Hamer-Jackson acknowledged, council did a lot more talking during public inquiries yesterday than the public did. One intrepid citizen who stuck it out to the end advised council to stop the “shit show” and take counselling for their shameful conduct.
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.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Hi Mel,
It takes two to tango…..an old saying but it is true.
There should be a manual, “How to get along with a rookie Mayor”; a few chapters for the Mayor and a few for the councillors and a few for the staffers. Somehow, I think certain folks would not want to read the chapters meant to improve the situation for themselves.
When two or maybe 3 sides are dug into their own tranches and refuse to even talk about an armistice, the trench warfare is bound to continue.
The Mayor might have some valid points about the future ownership of the Campbell Street property. Council and staff should hear him out and ask what info he has learned or why he feels that way. The Mayor could be right.
It’s tough to sign a document when a person is 5,000 miles away………that’s a no brainer…..or get it to the mayor before he leaves for Halifax. (Did no one realize he was going????)
If these folks thought they had it in them that they couldn’t bridge personality issues if they won a seat on council, then they maybe shouldn’t have run for office. Someone maybe should have advised them of the possibility of a rookie Mayor being elected. “What if that happens?” was a question that should have been discussed.
We now have a community (for those who care about our city) deeply divided. I tell people that I watch too many “cop shows” but I’ve got an uneasy feeling this stuff at City Hall is not going to end well.
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I am so ashamed and sorry for such childish behaviour by our council. This city must be the laughing stock of Canada. A mayor that just wants to help out is treated to such a degree of dis-respect. I call for the whole council to resign. From the very beginning they have demonstrated no support for a new mayor. Elected by the people. Back room dealings. Bullying. They have all demonstrated a severe degree of a lack of integrity. I have no faith of them ever doing a decent job. Good luck Mr Mayor.
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