FEATURED COMMENT – We need fresh faces on Kamloops City council

Re: Dear media: There’s another side to City council chaos

Trying to be as objective as possible as someone who finds serious faults with the councillors, this vote is a tough one. The easy part is “no incumbents”. This council has abdicated their duty to this community and has acted without integrity more times than Mel has mentioned here. Sometimes with egregious outcomes.

I feel Reid was legitimate wronged by council and particularly aided by some employees of the corporation. However, Reid seems to have completely lost the plot in recent months/weeks. The apparent repeated disclosures of private information, if accurate, are really getting into territory that I cannot support. Even if grievous harm was done to Reid, that doesn’t give a public servant carte blanche to ignore privacy laws. I am an absolutist when it comes to the right of privacy, and an elected official, of all people, must strive to upload the legal frameworks surrounding the right to privacy. I wanted to see the underdog win, I wanted him to shake up the rot at city hall, but there comes a point where you need to stop giving your adversaries ammunition. Take the high road. There’s a great mayor in there, somewhere, but Reid simply can’t let it go. They didn’t make it easy, but he can’t let it go. He is Sisyphus – condemned to push a boulder of grievances up the mountain for all eternity, while the council and administration band together on the sidelines to ensure their own foibles and many shortcomings are papered over.

And showing up to someone’s place of business because that individual shared critical opinions of him on the internet, if true, is also an example of doing the most. It’s just unnecessary and if Reid’s version is accurate, just let it go man.

I voted no incumbents. They’re easy to spot because they have an (i) indicator on the ballot. I hope whomever wins their seat is prepared to focus on the issues plaguing the community, and will put the administration and corporation on notice that they’re not going to be pulling strings anymore.

We need fresh faces on council. This pathetic tenure will go down in history as one of the best examples of how not to run a city.

THESPIAN