LETTER – Stop bullying the mayor and let him do the job he was elected to do
(Image: Mel Rothenburger.)
I have been following the Kamloops shit show since Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson was voted in. I am honestly appalled that the same people that aren’t happy with the mayor barrage social media with negative posts and continue to blatantly harass and bully him. It’s a complete joke!
Mayor HJ was voted in by the people of Kamloops to bring change to the city, help those struggling with homelessness and addiction and make Kamloops the beautiful city that it once was. He has a vision, and what’s wrong with Mayor HJ being a car salesman? Some of you are ditch diggers — do you think that makes you better?
You naysayers are like kids in elementary school that bully, then run and hide, or like dogs that bark and bark and when you are challenged, you run away with your tail between your legs. Most of the negative posters don’t even use their real names, but pseudonyms instead. Are you afraid of challenge?
From outside looking in, the real bullies are the current council, City management and Brett (Mineer) from NL. Let Mayor HJ do his job like he fully visioned to clean up Kamloops. What in the world makes you not want that to happen?? What’s the matter you guys? Come on!
I used to have a lot of respect for Radio NL in the past. With someone like (Mineer) and his BS, it’s an embarrassment to not only the radio station, but to Kamloops as a whole. I guess he thinks he’s popular calling the mayor a bully but it reflects right back on him as the bully.
I lived in Kamloops for 18 years and all my children were born and raised here. It was a great place to live and downtown was the hub of the city where I had my office on Victoria Street. I recently visited Kamloops and, to be honest, I was disgusted at what I saw. There were drug addicts everywhere and homeless people begging at every street corner, not only downtown but in Sahali, and the North Shore isn’t something that just happened overnight. The council members that brag about being on council for more than the current term haven’t made any progress toward cleaning up the city. What have they accomplished? Not much from what I see.
With the constant bickering, any new ideas put forth by Mayor HJ to implement changes are bashed by all the council members. Stop the whining and bullying and work together as a team to accomplish the goals that the mayor set out to make happen during his term.
I agree with some of the citizens that say they are ashamed about what is happening at City Hall. You should be — but not embarrassed by the mayor; he’s trying his best to move the city forward and make it a safe and beautiful city for all. The ones that should be embarrassed are the goof (Mineer) on Radio NL, your current City council, City management and the rest of the bullies making all the ridiculous comments on social media.
Let the man — Mayor Hamer-Jackson — do the job he set out to do and Kamloops will prosper.
JIM JESSON
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Reid may be a bit obtuse and undiplomatic but his “axe to grind” with the current administration is totally justifiable. The problem is and has been all along that this council and previous ones never did their job properly to begin with. Questioning and challenging administration decisions should be the most essential of requisites for ensuring decisions are thoroughly reviewed. The arrogance and distaste for criticism from the administrators is quite transparent and well-known and that is exactly what has caused the current situation.
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Actors in this drama at city hall seem to manipulate facts to influence social behavior and their own political agenda. The facts that are represented by the actors in this crisis don’t speak for themselves and its incumbent on the journalists and us who comment to interpret the facts to draw a verifiable conclusion.
The facts as presented by the actors only tell part of the story since the council members and those who comment discriminate in what they emphasize and select. For that reason, the questions about the facts are more important than the answers. Consequently, the main issue in this drama is not to give opinions, but to evaluate the facts. This evaluation must not be colored by one’s self-interest environment, social and political position.
Why should I or anyone else who comments here be embarrassed for the actions of the administration, the mayor and the council. They own their behaviors I own my agreement or disagreement with their behaviors based on the facts that I can verify. If I can verify with evidence my conclusions there is no need to be embarrassed.
I am more interested if the administrator is doing a professional job in overseeing the day-to-day operations of our municipality? I am also interested if the mayor is managing the day-to-day agency operations, and supervising of city officers and employees so that they properly do their jobs. I am also interested in knowing if the councilors consider the well-being and interests of the municipality over their own self-interest and follow the rules in legislation, bylaws and council policies by standards of a reasonable person in the same situation.
Consequently, as I said before the main issue in this drama is not to give opinions, but to evaluate the facts and verify them with evidence. Some will say that the independent investigation is a presentation of facts but when innuendoes are leaked and not investigated whose interest did that serve? Certainly not the facts. I don’t believe that any of us know the facts about the administration, the mayor or the council so how can we evaluate them.
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YES Mayor H-J. Thank you Jim. Brett who?
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So … tell us how you really feel.
I always find it fun to hear people blame municipal politics in Kamloops as the sole blame for the homelessness and the addiction crisis … when actual reality has shown an increase in visibility of this in every. single. city and town across the country and much of the western world. But its still the fault of Kamloops Council … only.
As soon as I read stuff like that, I scroll on,
… but still, tell us how you really feel.
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Council and the city aren’t solely to blame for the damage being done to this community by drug addicts and homeless, but they certainly have not done anything to address the concerns of the community (which was largely the platform of the Mayor). This is Kamloops council:
Voted against a review of the homeless industrial complex in town. Refuses to clear encampments (spineless). Refuses to shut down the nuisance property The Loop. Doesn’t push back against BC Housing and surprise announcements of wet facilities. Commandeered sports facilities for drug addicts. Allows dangerous propane tanks outside of city hall. The city releases analysis on homeless that is laughably full of gaps and contradictions and calls it proof that homeless people aren’t coming from other places to engage services here (they are). Issued operational permits for meth heads to congregate adjacent to one of the busiest corridors in the city. Ignore the pleas of business owners such as the car lots and Earl’s in Sahali who experience hundreds of thousands of dollars is damages. Ignore the pleas of citizens about crime and disorder. Sits by and does nothing while fire and ambulance services spent the majority of their calls on drug addicts and homeless problems, at a massive expense to taxpayers. Does nothing about the crime and gang warfare on the streets. Not even a statement on it. Allows encampments to fester next to homes and neighbourhoods. Ignores the fire risks of encampments (KFR chief is to blame, and is comfortable with that risk even after a crack head lit the church on fire).
Get this council into treatment. They are facing the comorbidity factors of arrogance and Dunning-Kruger. Increase the stigma.
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And don’t forget spending $12 million “beautifying” the West Vic corridor while at the same time zoning it into a skid row.
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WoW … ok … missed the point of my comment completely.
What I didnt say, as I wrongfully assumed I didnt need to:
The homelessness / drug addiction issue shouldn’t be blamed entirely on City Council, as it literally is a failure of the entire society in which we all live in, ie: An economic capitalistic – social constitutional democracy empowered in (Canadas case by) a Charter of Rights, mediated by a cross section of local, regional and national jurisdictions, responsibilities and legal and economic frameworks, all of which cycle on a 4 or so year election cycle.
In simple terms, its our entire world that created the issue, by clearly leaving raging gaps in society for people to fall through. Segregating the blame to Council without looking deeply at the foundation that built the disparity in the first place, is blind to the real world.
Understandably, its easier to point at one cause for our ills than looking literally at ourselves, but there is value in recognizing the larger picture. When I read comments that focus as such, yes … I scroll on.
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Well written, Jim.
Would it be worthwhile for a number of people to write/email the owner(s) of NL and voice the opinion that we no longer listen to NL Radio because of Brett Mineer? There was a time when public opinion meant a lot to the ones who owned a business.
In this case, I say the more of us, the better.
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Sure admin and council are doing whatever they can to undermine the mayor, I think most reasonable nonpartisan people can agree on this, but what was the mayor’s platform when he was elected? Aside from a few catch words it was really an empty platform leaving us to ask, “where’s the beef”.
The mayor has been a complete failure, sure much of that is due to council and admin, but he has to take some responsibility himself. For example, he suspended the acting cao without giving any cause for the suspension, this was a self-inflicted wound. If the mayor had a good reason for the suspension he should have voiced it in detail, it’s not as though there isn’t an abundance of reasons for such a suspension, but failing to explain why this decision quickly backfired on him making the mayor look completely inept, you can’t blame council for this.
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so in your world, the mayor shares no responsibility for the discord at City Hall and it falls upon the counselors, the administration and someone at a radio station. Does that make any sense at all? you also suggest that everyone should stop bickering so that the mayor can accomplish the goals that he set out. Once again, suggesting that he and he alone is running the show. And therein lies the problem because clearly that’s how he views his role. every city in Canada has the problems that you describe and every city in Canada is struggling with how to deal with it.
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You’ve got it quite wrong Mr. Jesson. Independent investigation has found Reid Hamer-Jackson to be the bully and harasser. Objectively, our Mayor has a difficult time with effective, collaborative leadership.
The Council are not without flaw. But leadership starts at the top, and our Mayor doesn’t grasp key concepts of effective leadership, such as listening, working collaboratively within a team, understanding basic workplace rules regarding personal information and confidentiality and effective communication.
The job he was elected to do is lead a Council, and work with city administration to move a strategy forward. He’s got some work to do on all of the above and it starts with him.
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One could say the same thing about much of your comments Mr Madsen. For example, city admin made allegations/complaints then hand picked the investigator who wrote a report in favour of those who hired him, hardly an independent investigation and certainly not worth mentioning. The 2nd investigation was by Braun’s own words not an “investigation” had it been he may have looked at the flowing of private information being leaked from city hall and asked for a formal police investigation, but again it wasn’t an “investigation”.
I quite agree the mayor has brought a great deal of this on upon himself but admin certainly have some dirty hands as well.
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You are only partly correct. This bullying started before the mayor was sworn into office. The incumbents know this. So why did they start this immediatly? And why did the newly elected councilors join in. What was so terrible about a new mayor that scared the councilors so much? It takes time to learn a new job. The councilors failed. I suggest they resign as their integity is lost.
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Bullying has been a proven method of winning an argument. No one likes to be shouted at, humiliated, exposed, naked…and that is why the highly organized cult of bullies is rising once again.
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Sad but true statement about bullying. I respect that the mayor is standing up to the bullies but he needs to give evidence when he’s doing so, for example why did he suspend McCokell, was it for the $4-5million bylaw fiasco? Was it for closing McDonald Pool and not replacing it as promised? The pool required a $200,000 boiler but they chose to spend that much on tearing it down, this is for the same designed pool as the Kerrisdale pool which is 2 yrs older and the Vancouver Parks Board decided to place a roof over it making it a indoor pool open all yr round. Maybe it was for forcing the boy’s & girl’s club out of the McArthur Island building then tearing that building down in hopes that council would fund a new swimming pool, which they didn’t. Wouldn’t it have been prudent to have received the funding prior to tearing the building down? Now we have less kids going to the boy’s/girl’s club b/c it’s in a more dangerous area and further away from Brock kids homes who were the biggest users of the club. Moreover, the city is spending $3million on gym space at the new Parkcrest Elementary School for a community centre to replace the community centre they tore down. Or the nearly $6 million spent on Westsyde pool, I notice the Y hasn’t required the same type of reno, I find this odd since both pools were built with the same design, with the same materials by the same builders during the same time. You’d think with all the city building inspectors they’d have asked one to drop by the pool at some point in time to check the roof.
Were any of these the reasons for the suspension?
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The reason was because he blamed Byron for taking down his election sign. The man is petty, a bully and used to getting his own way. He is away over his head and should go back to selling cars. Thank God we don’t have a Council full of RHJ clones.
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