CITY HALL – Mayor evicted from his office, will move into basement
(Image: Mel Rothenburger)
Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson has until Oct. 22 to vacate his City Hall office and move downstairs.
Deputy Mayor Mike O’Reilly said today (Oct. 4, 2024) the move is to further protect staff, though he didn’t elaborate except to say that previous measures haven’t worked and that Hamer-Jackson’s “inappropriate conduct” toward staff has continued, exposing the City to legal risk.
For his part, the mayor calls the decision “a complete joke.”
The mayor’s new quarters will be in a former meeting room in the City Hall basement area underneath council chambers. It has an outside door to the parking lot. O’Reilly told ArmchairMayor.ca the door will be set up with a fob and if Hamer-Jackson has a meeting with someone, they can knock on the door.
The new office will also have “an executive washroom” and coffee station, O’Reilly said.
“It will be quite large,” he said.
Since the existing mayor’s office was isolated from other parts of the building a few months ago, Hamer-Jackson has had access only to a public washroom.
His executive assistant will continue to be located elsewhere in City Hall but O’Reilly wouldn’t say where. Hamer-Jackson has largely been acting as his own secretary.
The decision to remove the mayor from his office to the new space was made at a closed council meeting in August as a result of a safety and security audit and it took time to make preparations, O’Reilly said.
He stated it is not a “sanction” against the mayor, but strictly for security reasons. He noted there are currently four workplace complaints against him as well as other code of conduct investigations that are outstanding.
The current mayor’s office, in an area that has been used by mayors going back at least to Phil Gaglardi in the 1980s, will be vacant except for possible spillover meeting space.
No news release was issued on the decision and O’Reilly acknowledged that the intention wasn’t to go public with it, though he expected it to become general knowledge once the mayor opened the official notice emailed to him Thursday. However, CBC heard about it, causing a change in plans.
Hamer-Jackson said today he hasn’t opened the confidential email O’Reilly sent him yesterday but called the situation “a complete joke.”
He told ArmchairMayor.ca that he currently has no way of being in contact with staff except when he goes into the public lobby area and hands papers over the counter for the legislative services department.
“There is no staff in my area. I don’t have access to anybody,” he said.
“The staff members know me. I don’t scream, I don’t yell at people, I don’t bully and harass people.”
He said he’d like to know who leaked the decision to some of the local media.
“Who’s being bullied here?”
Hamer-Jackson said he’s been given no details about alleged incidents but council has asked him to publicly apologize for things he says he hasn’t done.
“Enough is enough.”
ArmchairMayor.ca 
The level of maturity of this one is quite spectacular. All evidence points to a “leftie”, perhaps with Karen tendencies.
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That accusations without any details are allowed to be regularly repeated and thrown around seemingly at will is beyond ridiculous. I for a moment do not believe at all the mayor is bullying nor disrespecting anyone working at City Hall. But I do believe an overly vexatious bureaucracy has been allowed to build-up throughout the whole of the City’s apparatus. The real problem here is certainly not the mayor.
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Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
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I have a challenge for council. Hold a celebrity boxing match to raise funds for the PAC. It will be a national sensation.
Undercard:
Nancy Bepple vs Bill Sarai
Dale Bass vs Katie Neustaeter
Lightweight Title:
Kelly Hall vs Stephen Karpuk
Title Match:
Mayor Hamer-Jackson vs Mike 0’Reilly
Guest Referee:
Henry Braun
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Excellent idea! Raise money for a good cause.
An extra bout could be the First Lady against Amy ha-ha. I’d pay to watch that one; KO in 15 seconds.
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I second the motion!
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It seems the leaker is still active. City Hall needs to do the right thing and request that either the RCMP or the Privacy Commissioner do a proper investigation? Hiring a lawyer with limited powers of investigation at a cost of $63,000 when the Commissioner or RCMP have greater powers and experience and cost nothing was crazy. Let’s do it right this time, City Hall.
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I believe the RCMP should become involved. Who knows what other “documents” have been released and perhaps payment was received for them? The RCMP and CSIS have the technical means and experience to deal with this kind of thing.
Tracking down the leaker(s) should be a “slam dunk” operation. A team of Officers show up at City Hall (and in this case, perhaps at the media outlet) with search warrants. Digital devices such as smart phones and computers are seized and the investigation becomes active and ongoing.
Any smirks or smiles will be quickly removed.
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Meanwhile in Kamloops, not only are the junkies doped up on meth wherever you go, but so are the pitbulls! Roaming pitbulls high on meth and cocaine. And Bill Sarai wants to focus on eliminating public input while the elected Mayor is sent to the dungeon.
This all reads like a really shitty movie, and we’re all unwilling extras.
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A complete joke of a council under McCorkell.
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