CIVIC ELECTION – Who do you think will be the next mayor of Kamloops?

Posted on October 4, 2026 in 'Loops, Page One // 0 Comments

Mayoral hopefuls at Saturday’s forum hosted by the Kamloops Farmers Market. (Image: Mel Rothenburger.)

THREE CANDIDATES and about 60 potential voters attended Saturday’s (Oct. 3, 2026) mayoral forum at the Kamloops Farmers Market.

Half those on the ballot weren’t there for most of it. Nelly Dever had to leave for another engagement about half an hour after it started. Neither incumbent mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson or newcomer Kris Lloyd-Middleton attended.

That left Mike O’Reilly, Ray Dhaliwal and Ivory Winston to respond to written questions from the audience. Questions included favorite topics such as taxes, the environment, business attraction, homelessness, bringing in more doctors, and the Alternative Approval Process.

Appropriately, one of the questions was about the building that stands behind where the forum was held — the historic Stuart Wood School. Asked for their views on the future of the school, Dhaliwal said it should be torn down in favour of a new police station, O’Reilly was non-committal but felt the future of the old elementary school needs to be looked at, and Winston said it should be kept and repurposed.

So, with only two weeks until election day on Oct. 17, the race is coming down to the wire. For fun, you can vote in the Armchair Mayor poll but this one has a twist — the question is not who you will vote for, but who you think will win, regardless of who you want to win.

So, it’s about making a prediction, not picking whose name you’ll mark on the ballot. And remember, such polls are not scientific; they’re for entertainment only.