Kamloops Mayor Reid-Hamer Jackson following his swearing-in/via City of Kamloops
The new mayor and council in Kamloops have been sworn in.
In a Tuesday evening at Thompson Rivers University, filled mostly with ceremony, tradition and a nod to the city’s partnership with Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, Reid Hamer-Jackson and the 8-member council have been made official by BC Supreme Court Justice Joel Groves.
The new council includes Katie Neustaeter, Bill Sarai, Mike O’Reilly, Kelly Hall, Margot Middleton, Dale Bass, Stephen Karpuk, and Nancy Bepple.
Picture of new Kamloops mayor and council at TRU swearing in/via City of Kamloops (Left to Right: Karpuk, Middleton, O’Reilly, Neustaeter, Hamer-Jackson, Sarai, Hall, Bass, Bepple)
In delivering his first speech after taking the oath-of-office, Hamer-Jackson talked about his work in the community with those looking to get off the streets.
“If you told me I’d be standing here today, a year ago, I would have told you, ‘You’re all crazy,'” Hamer-Jackson said.
His speech also focused on policy, saying he wants to work with the new council to create working task force teams to get his vision for the city realized, including dealing with crime and addiction.
“One task force team would be dealing with addiction, mental health, street crime, emergency shelters, outreach and recovery centers,” Hamer-Jackson added.
However, his speech also touched on other areas of concern for his new administration, such as housing.
“We’ve got a lot of old apartment buildings in Kamloops that were built in the 50’s and 60’s. They’ve got asbestos and mold and electrical problems,” said Hamer-Jackson.
Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson being sworn in by Justice Joel Groves/via City of Kamloops
The inaugural meeting was observed by Kukpi7 Rosanne Casimir of Tk’emlups.
As part of a short speech, she says Tk’emlups has maintained a solid working relationship with the City of Kamloops.
“I know for us, this is something we hold very dear. And it is something that we want to continue to build on.”
After administering the oath-of-office, Justice Groves – himself a Kamloops native – also took a few moments to offer some advice to Hamer-Jackson and the new council.
“You have been elected to show leadership in making decisions and balancing valid — but competing — interests,” said Groves. “This is a difficult task.”
The inaugural meeting did take care of a small amount of business, including a review of the election results, as well as the appointing of two veteran councillors, Mike O’Reilly and Bill Sarai, as Deputy Mayors for the next two months.
Reid Hamer-Jackson takes over from Ken Christian, who spent the last five years in the mayor’s chair, and nearly three decades in public office.
The new Kamloops council will hold their first regular meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 15.
