EDITORIAL – Settle down, people, this is an election campaign, not a bar brawl

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

CIVIC ELECTION CAMPAIGNS can get a little tense, especially in the last week or two. This one is probably the most combative ever. Why that’s the case is open to speculation, but it’s gotten more heated as it gets closer to election day on Saturday (Oct. 17, 2026).

Just a few examples. School board candidate Jo Kang had to take to social media to dismiss some nasty comments about his family that had nothing to do with politics. He shouldn’t have had to do that but when somebody gets spiteful it’s never a good practice to leave it on the record without response.

Some aren’t as nasty as that. This past week, mayoral candidate Nelly Dever was questioned about her relationship with the Cooper Family Foundation. An anonymous commenter posted a letter from a Cooper family member that indicated some friction, and Dever found it necessary to go on line with a rebuttal.

One of the most memorable bits of conflict came when somebody posted a prank video made by council candidate Dennis Giesbrecht that had appeared briefly in July. The video, as the entire city must know by now, depicted Giesbrecht in a hostage situation delivering a forced message about the wonders of City council.

It was a silly joke, inappropriate, and much of the reaction was of the “how dare he” variety, as if he’d done something incredibly egregious. Coun. Dale Bass weighed in on “collateral damage” and the threats of violence some councillors have received in the past. “And this Pivot candidate signed a pledge of civility,” she wrote.

The outrage fed on itself and it all got a bit much. Former mayor Terry Lake even said Giesbrecht should be disqualified. Interesting to note Bass’s pointed mention that Giesbrecht is part of the Pivot slate, which is challenging incumbents.

The worst accusation came from council candidate Lyndsay McDonald against incumbent mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson. For reasons known only to her, she posted a Facebook comment claiming she’d heard from a number of people who had made claims about his behaviour.

She had no direct knowledge to back any of it up. It really was quite shocking, not to mention defamatory, but McDonald’s defence was that she wasn’t the one saying it and that she was only repeating what somebody else had said, that “I did not claim to have personally witnessed the alleged conduct, nor did I present those reports as proven facts,” as if that made her thoroughly inappropriate post any better.

A civic election, or any election, shouldn’t be that way. Sadly, social media have made it more tempting for a lot of folks to get carried away.

So, please, let’s settle down and talk about things that matter, without the mudslinging.

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.