EDITORIAL – Bill Sarai doesn’t have the right experience for City council
(Image: Mel Rothenburger)
An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.
ONE THING you can say about Bill Sarai is — and let’s just say it — he has balls.
Sarai announced today (May 14, 2026) that he’s going to run for another term on Kamloops City council. This is the man who should have had the grace to resign a year ago.
To recap, Sarai violated the council’s own Code of Conduct, breached his Oath of Office, was caught lying about secretly taping an argument with the mayor, and was forced to issue a public apology.
(The Oath of Office, by the way, covers such things as respectful treatment of others, leadership and following the rules of the office.)
He has said he’s “owned” his actions in that situation, but he didn’t fess up until RCMP investigated. There was considerable public sentiment in favour of him resigning.
Sarai is also the guy who proposed cutting off grant funding to community groups that criticize City council. Fortunately, he didn’t get anywhere with that one.
Incidentally, he was recently chosen as president of the Southern Interior Local Government Association, an organization of city councils that meets once a year to discuss mutual issues. He was not exactly elected. The way it works is that once you get onto the executive, year by year you move up the ladder.
This year was Sarai’s term. Refusing to put him into the top position would certainly have set a precedent, but one has to wonder if his SILGA colleagues considered his record here at home.
Sarai says he has the experience needed for another term. His kind of experience is not what’s needed.
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 was 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 
Sarai is very anti-public participation. Is this due to fear or arrogance?
After the “zoom-porn” episode, Sarai immediately made a motion to cancel Public Inquiry altogether.
When town hall meetings were being discussed, he pushed back, saying an open meeting would result in people yelling at “an open mic where people can just come in and vent.” Kind of ironic, given his OTT yelling on tape.
I seem to recall an editorial where he said he won’t talk to Mel except at election time.
I suggest Kamloops residents dis-elect old yeller in the upcoming election.
LikeLike
Hopefully, voters have enough sense not to mark his name on the ballot.
LikeLike