ROTHENBURGER – Muzzling the mayor might be easier said than done

IF THE LATEST shackles placed on Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson by City councillors play out the way they’re designed, his political emasculation will be close to complete.

On top of everything else that’s been done to tie him up, he has now been removed as the official spokesperson for Council and the City. This means he’s no longer supposed to speak on behalf of the City at public ceremonies, is not the City’s official contact person for agencies including governments, and has a short timeframe of 48 hours in which to sign City documents.

The latter shouldn’t be a big deal as long as documents — including contracts and letters — are provided to him in a timely manner.

The other two are more troublesome for him. Other levels of government will probably be reluctant to bypass a duly approved City policy, which means Hamer-Jackson will be hamstrung in calling up provincial ministries for information or to discuss Kamloops issues, or in participating in groups such as the B.C. Urban Mayors Caucus.

He’s an official member of the latter so, presumably, the 17-member caucus will have to have some sort of vote to remove him if they want to go along with the new Kamloops policy. All current members are mayors — no councillors are on it — so it will be a bit awkward. The plan is for the rotating Kamloops deputy mayors to be the City’s rep for such things, which makes for some continuity problems to say the least.

Public ceremonies also present challenges. According to statements made by Coun. Kelly Hall, the deputy mayor for May, anyone wanting a council member to speak at a grand opening or ribbon cutting or such will have to settle for a councillor, which would normally be that month’s deputy mayor.

Hamer-Jackson could still attend, but he wouldn’t be allowed to speak. This presumes that the City is now in control of the agenda for all ceremonies organized by public or private interests. It will be hard to enforce, and might lead to some embarrassing moments.

Suppose you’re opening a new store and set up a ribbon cutting ceremony. Part of such events is very often some remarks from the owner and the mayor, who then take a big pair of scissors and cut a ribbon.

From experience, I can tell you that the mayor is the one people who organize these types of ceremonies want. It’s the presence of the mayor that makes them special. Councillors are of no interest, unless the mayor doesn’t happen to be available. No offence to councillors, but that’s the way it is.

So, if Bill Blotz is celebrating the grand opening of his new store, all he has to do is call Hamer-Jackson and ask him if he’ll speak. Is the City seriously going to try to interfere so that an uninvited councillor who happens to be called the deputy mayor for a month can come and speak instead? Seems like a bit of an arrogant assumption.

And, really, who wants the deputy mayor of the month delivering the State of the City address to the annual meeting of the chamber of commerce?

(By the way, nobody elects deputy mayors. The proper title is “acting” mayor; it was changed 20 years ago by councillors who thought “deputy” sounded more important. The current council has simply taken “deputy” to heart and greatly expanded the role.)

Coun. Kelly Hall, the deputy mayor for May, hasn’t returned my email or my phone call, in which I wanted to ask how all that might play out, and for a list of the times Hamer-Jackson has failed to follow the will of council — an allegation that seems to be the main justification for the new measures.

I assume there is such a list.

No doubt, while Hamer-Jackson will be hard to silence, his ability to do his job will be further diminished by the new dictum. His ability to communicate internally is severely hampered, he can’t get any of his ideas past council, he’s no longer allowed to speak in an official capacity, and he has no one to lead.

His choices are few. He could resign and run again, but he shows no inclination to do that. He could offer to resign in return for all eight councillors resigning, and let the voters sort out the mess in a byelection, but that scenario is unlikely as well.

Or, since there’s no longer the slightest hope of mayor and councillors working things out, Hamer-Jackson could set up his own citizens’ round table, or focus groups, on the community’s major issues, come up with some action plans, and try to present them to the council.

Councillors would probably balk at that, as well (and might insist they’ve already held town hall meetings and that’s enough), but refusing such public input would be at their peril. And Hamer-Jackson would have the opportunity to connect with the base that elected him.

The councillors’ power grab is being promoted as a way to return stability to City Hall. It remains to be seen whether that will be the case.

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, 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.