POLITICS – Back home after surgery, Hamer-Jackson thanks well-wishers

Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson is back home after undergoing open-heart quadruple bypass surgery.

The mayor said this morning (Nov. 2, 2026) he returned home last night from Kelowna General Hospital, where the surgery was done Oct. 28. He had been transported to Kelowna from Royal Inland Hospital by ambulance the previous day.

The heart attack that struck Oct. 13 took him away from the campaign trail in the last week.

Hamer-Jackson, whose term as mayor ends today with the swearing in of the new council, said he’s received hundreds of emails offering best wishes.

“I’d like to thank them very much,” he said, adding that he’ll be getting back to the well-wishers as he recovers, which is expected to take three months.

He said a number of the newly elected councillors are among those who have sent him get-well messages. “I’d like to wish them the best” in their coming term, he said.