REID ALL ABOUT IT – Clock ticks down on the mayor’s final week in office

 An occasional (and likely the final) glimpse into the mayoral life of Reid Hamer-Jackson.

FOR ONE MORE WEEK, Reid Hamer-Jackson is the mayor of Kamloops. Until Mike O’Reilly is officially sworn in next Monday, Nov. 2, Hamer-Jackson remains the CEO of the City. But he won’t be at TRU’s Grand Hall for the new council’s swearing-in ceremony because he’s still in hospital, waiting for an opening in Kelowna for heart surgery. “Great nurses, doctors and support staff at RIH,” says Hamer-Jackson. He’s been there for more than a week, and won’t be at today’s (Oct. 27, 2026) final meeting of the outgoing council, either, so deputy mayor Stephen Karpuk — also defeated in the election — will be in the chair.

Mayor-elect O’Reilly isn’t waiting for Hamer-Jackson’s term to be over before taking over the mayor’s office, though. Recent media images show him sitting in the mayor’s office, at the mayor’s desk. Etiquette has always been that the mayor-elect does not infringe on the outgoing mayor’s purview until the latter has packed up his stuff and left the building. Of course, we all know the story about the mayor’s office, how the council booted him out and tried to banish him to the basement. So the real office hasn’t been used for much since then, and Hamer-Jackson refused to use the one downstairs. But when incoming mayors have wanted to hit the ground running, they’ve been found a corner somewhere in City Hall until they actually become the mayor and it’s time to take over the official mayoralty office. O’Reilly decided not to wait, and has taken possession of an office that isn’t his yet….

It’s unlikely Hamer-Jackson and O’Reilly will get together to discuss a smooth transition, either, as they continue to be not exactly the best of friends. Normally the incoming mayor would reach out to the outgoing incumbent for advice on the hand-over but O’Reilly said on radio that if Hamer-Jackson reaches out he’ll talk to him, rather than the other way around. That may be understandable considering Hamer-Jackson’s health situation and uncertainty over when his heart surgery will be scheduled….

Interesting image showed up on Facebook depicting Coun. Katie Neustaeter’s “buddy” (as she has called him), developer Joshua Knaak wearing an election-night T-shirt with “So sue me” written on it. It appears to have been taken election night, with Knaak and Neustaeter, all smiles, having a celebratory hug. The “So sue me” line is one Neustaeter used in a council meeting not long ago during a brief tiff with the mayor. Hamer-Jackson, of course, has engaged in defamation suits against Neustaeter (one unsuccessful, the other not yet settled) and has one pending against Knaak, as well. On election eve, Knaak also posted a comment saying people can vote differently and still be friends. He ended it with “So sue me.”

As the clock ticks, Hamer-Jackson continues his feud with councillors, staff, media and City lawyers, actively emailing from his hospital bed. Typically, an exchange involves the mayor demanding answers for past actions. Typically, he will (a) be ignored, (b) be told he’s already received the answer, or (c) receive a terse response. After which Hamer-Jackson follows up with another email, or several, once again demanding answers. On occasion, the City’s Privacy office sends out a notice to recipients saying the mayor has breached privacy rules and directing that certain emails be purged….

So, as indicated at the top of this post, we say a fond farewell to Reid All About It. Life is about to get less interesting. Be well, Your Worship.