EDITORIAL – Voters deserve a choice for mayor, including Reid Hamer-Jackson
Dieter Dudy in his council days. That’s then-councillor Denis Walsh on the right and Tina Lange on the left.
An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.
DIETER DUDY, the former Kamloops City councillor and two-time mayoral candidate, stirred up some lively online conversation this week by asking Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson — in a sort of open letter to him — not to run again.
“At some point even you would have to admit that yours has been a failed experiment,” he wrote, in part. “I ask you with complete respect, consider community over self. Don’t! Please don’t run again. Allow this city to receive the leadership it deserves.”
That’s a very interesting position to take. Hamer-Jackson has a strong, faithful following. Whether it’s big enough to get him re-elected is hard to say, because he has a lot of detractors too.
But what Dudy proposes is that voters be deprived of making a choice. He wants those who support the incumbent mayor to be disenfranchised. That’s not what our democratic municipal election system is supposed to be about. It’s supposed to be about candidates putting forward their credentials and ideas and letting voters compare them with what the other candidates have to say.
It’s not about discouraging somebody from running just because you happen to disagree with their policies, their demeanour or their record. Dudy followed up his initial post with another one commenting on a response he received saying he, Dudy, is no longer relevant to the local political scene. He promised to take the comment seriously and to think about it.
Dudy hasn’t yet decided whether or not to take another swing at election either as a councillor or as mayor. It’s up to him to decide if he’s still relevant and should run again, and up to the voters to decided if he’s someone they want to see on council. Nobody should tell him whether or not he should run.
As for the mayoral race, let this be a referendum on the last four years. If people like Hamer-Jackson for his principles and his style, he deserves another chance. If not, the question of whether or not it’s time for a change will be answered.
It’s not for Dieter Dudy or anyone else to dictate — or even politely ask — whether the incumbent mayor should run.
Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, writes for the Kamloops Chronicle and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. 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 
DIsagree on this one. Don’t like the editorial, it comes across as pissy.I think if RHJ was able to admit that his term has been a disaster caused mostly by him he would do the honourable thing and not run again. I think DD was thinking of Kamloops when he penned that letter. I would love to see Arjun Singh, Dieter Dudy, even Denis Walsh back on Council. I just hope that the supporters of RHJ (like the ones regularly on here) are in the minority come election day.
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It isn’t necessary for city council candidates to arrive as policy experts who can independently chart every course for the city. What is essential is that those who seek to lead possess the critical judgment and discernment to evaluate the detailed information and recommendations provided by well-compensated administrators, and to do so with the taxpayers’ best interests foremost in mind. Decisions on the council should never be driven by partisan politics, personal self-interest, or self-serving motives, but by a clear-eyed commitment to the community’s overall well-being.
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“What is essential is that those who seek to lead possess the critical judgment and discernment to evaluate the detailed information and recommendations provided by well-compensated administrators” We do have people like that in Kamloops but they don’t want to bother with the “noise” associated with being on council. The ones that usually run are attention-seekers, political hobbyists or need the money to top-up their meagre pension. A few others that could do very well in managing McCorkell et al are not “photogenic” enough…
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Thanks for this Mel.
One might ask, “Did he hit the sour grapes before hitting the keyboard?”
Let’s see if Reid chooses to run for Mayor this fall. I don’t think anyone who will be going out to vote needs a lesson from a person who chooses to treat voters like we are Kindergarten children. Was Mr. Dudy intimating that he would be a far, far, far, far better choice for Mayor?
Let’s see what happens tomorrow down at City Hall. If the subject of borrowing some $40 million for bridge financing comes up, let’s see who says what. If Reid gets the chance to mention that he wanted a forensic audit, it may be a touchy point for some.
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Important to note that during his tenure on council he was never the one standing out (unlike is one time friend D. Walsh) to challenge the narrative of the very management he didn’t spare criticism for prior to being elected. There is more I could say but I will not waste the time. Leadership like accountability are just nice catchy words in DD vocabulary. The one thing though, he does compose is writing well. He could send the penmanship to the Armchair Mayor?
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Bang on, I’d say. There may be a number of people who don’t like our Elected Mayor, there are an equal, possibly even greater number of people who dislike not one but all councillors. I’m guessing that if the Mayor puts together the right slate for council, the Mayor will be the only one left standing from the present guard.
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