With his time in public office all but over, Ken Christian took a moment to reflect on his last eleven years around the council table.

In his final appearance on the NL Morning News as mayor last month, Christian was asked what he wants people to think about when considering his legacy.

He says that is not something for him to say, noting it will be up to the history books and the community to decide.

“Flash in the Pan issues that come and go and that some people bring up, they run a news cycle,” he said. “It is the really heavy lifting of providing the services that people want a city to provide. That day in and day out the garbage gets picked up and the street light comes on and the snow gets removed, that kind of thing.”

“That is the work of local government and that is the part of it that I think I am most proud of is keeping the lights on and keeping the city running.”

“We have also had orderly growth in Kamloops and I think just in this last while particularly high rates of growth, but it’s been orderly. So, we’ve been able to as a city, kind of cope with that moving forward,” Christian added.

When discussing how issues like floods, wildfires, and a pandemic forced council’s hand and what it could accomplish over the last term, Christian says not being able to move ahead with a Performing Arts Centre is one of the things that was a disappointment.

Christian’s final duty as mayor will be the official opening of the Valleyview secondary expansion today, Nov. 1.

“You know when there is a first meeting, there is going to be a last,” he added.

Prior to his time on City Council, Christian spent 18 years on the Kamloops-Thompson school board, including eight years as chair.

Over that 29 year career in public office, Christian also served on the Kamloops Airport Authority, the Thompson Regional Hospital District, and Thompson-Nicola Regional District.

He topped the polls in all but one election – the first, in 1993, when he finished 17 votes behind first-place trustee finisher John O’Fee.

Frank Caputo, the Member of Parliament for Kamloops took time to pay tribute to Ken Christian on his last day in office today.

“Mayor Christian’s public life began 29 years ago, back then Kamloops was preparing to host the Canada Summer Games. The population was much lower and this face hadn’t yet seen a razor,” he said.

“I will miss our tradition of taking a selfie at local events. Ken was extremely welcoming to me in my new role as MP and I am grateful for all that he taught me. Mayor Christian, you have left big shoes for Mayor-elect Hamer-Jackson.”

Christian announced his retirement from public office over the Family Day weekend this year to spend more time with his family, including wife Brenda and a new grandson.

The new city council will be sworn in at the inaugural meeting Nov, 1, with their first meeting scheduled for Nov. 15.

“I think that [the new mayor and council] will chart their own course and I think there is a big learning curve, especially for ones that are new to the process, so they are going to be drinking from a fire hose over the next three months,” Christian told NL News after the Oct. 15 election.

“But I think they all have the capacity to do a good job on behalf of the citizens.”

– With files from Victor Kaisar

Thank you to outgoing Mayor Ken Christian for your years of service!

My tribute in the House of Commons:#Kamloops #Thompson #Cariboo pic.twitter.com/6AgU0sXDmg

— Frank Caputo MP (@FrankCaputoKTC) November 1, 2022