It seems as though the Mayor of Kamloops is not going to be taking up new office space within City Hall without a fight.

“I understand that there’s an executive washroom. I really appreciate that and everything,” said Reid Hamer-Jackson on Tuesday during his Mayor’s Report at the open council session.  “But I’m wondering, if I decide I don’t want to leave my office, is there going to be a court order for me to leave the office?”

The push back from Hamer-Jackson comes as the rest of Council has ordered him to vacate his current office on the main floor of City Hall by October 22nd.

Addressing the question yesterday, acting CAO Byron McCorkell urged Hamer-Jackson to follow the directive.

“The action that Council has taken is in regards to staff safety and confidence. So one would hope that you would abide by the direction of Council,” said McCorkell.  “I’ll be abiding by the direction of council and do whatever we require to make the move happen.”

Despite the suggestion, Hamer-Jackson then went on to insist that it will take legal action to remove him from his current work space.

“At this point there is a RCMP file on the ongoings of things going on in City Hall,” said Hamer-Jackson.  “So, at this point, I will not be moving. So you may have to, I guess, get a court order.”

Late last week, Council issued a decree, telling the Mayor he’s being moved to an office one floor below his current location, to an existing office space which is being renovated to accommodate Hamer-Jackson.

“There are currently four active WorkSafe complaints against the Mayor from City staff,” Councillor Mike O’Reilly — Deputy Mayor for October — told Radio NL last week after the decree was issued.  “This isn’t something that Council’s just coming up with. There are very serious concerns, and we are acting on that and protecting our staff.”