ROTHENBURGER – Battle for Kamloops Centre riding bound to be contentious
Coun. Bill Sarai in council meeting, (Image: Mel Rothenburger)
THE MAN WHO THINKS non-profit agencies that criticize City council should be barred from receiving grant funding wants to be the next MLA for Kamloops Centre.
Bill Sarai announced his intention this week to seek the NDP nomination for the Oct. 19 provincial election in the newly configured urban riding. With his name recognition as a City councillor, he could put up a good challenge to incumbent BC United MLA Peter Milobar.
That is, assuming Sarai is successful in getting the nomination, which I would bet on. This could make for an entertaining battle. It’s not unusual to see steam rising from Sarai’s head during council debates, figuratively at least. The man can’t stop himself, especially when it comes to disagreements with Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson.
As for Milobar, now a battle-hardened veteran of the Legislature, well, he can more than hold his own in the thrust and parry of politics — I nicknamed him Mayor Crankypants when he was in City Hall.
See also: ROTHENBURGER – Coun. Sarai’s astonishing plan to silence criticism from non-profits
Who will Sarai’s competition be for the NDP’s nomination? I doubt he’d be running if he didn’t already have substantial support from within the party, so an acclamation is in the cards. It’s much more likely there will be a race for the nomination in Kamloops-North Thompson. More on that in a minute.
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.
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Another reason to not vote NDP, as if there weren’t enough already
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What I find truly astonishing is why certain people are seemingly popular.
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