Defiant and controversial: Kamloops mayor digs in with half of term left

There are few signs in the Kamloops mayor's office that he spent time personalizing it as Reid Hamer-Jackson's workspace. It was supposed to be his last day before being forced to the basement, but it looked unfinished with no signs he was packing up to move. There was art on a chair waiting to be hung, a smattering of plaques and sports memorabilia behind his desk, and little sign of an organizational structure for the material he's collected two years after his election. Nearly every surface is covered with stacks of paper. There are city reports, brochures, old newspapers and letters, both opened and unopened. On one table there's also an unopened set of Kamloops Blazers oven mitts and, on another, are two unopened gifts. "These are from our sister city in Japan," Hamer-Jackson said. Delegates from Uji were last in Kamloops more than a year ago.  Though it appears chaotic, Hamer-Jackson said he knows where everything is. The office at his car dealership is similar. If it's something important, presently or in the future, it's available in a moment — once he sifts through the stack. On a bookcase near the door he keeps a pile for confidential reports, the ones detailing council resolutions on his salary reductions or pulling him from outside boards, for example. They're often slipped under his door and the envelopes are unopened. Another pile at the corner of his desk is mostly organized into a stack of closed council meeting notices. His first item to highlight during an Oct. 21 interview is a plaque behind his desk proving he completed bullying and harassment course. For Hamer-Jackson, it shows he did what council voted he do months ago http://infotel.ca/newsitem/kamloops-mayor-gets-a-pay-cut/it105199 , just not the way they wanted. It's one of a few requirements placed on him by council that he argues he followed through with, but after multiple retaliations against him, investigations and council resolutions, one demand he won't cave to is an apology. "I'm 65 years old. I've led companies, I've led sports teams and I've actually been very successful at it," he said. "But, it's similar to what (provincially appointed advisor) Henry Braun said to me: what's it going to take to get this council to work together? First it's going to take councillor Neustaeter to tell the truth... And I also said David Trawin is going to have to step up and tell the truth." It's two years into his term and despite a massive pay cut https://infotel.ca/newsitem/kamloops-mayor-must-apply-to-council-to-get-back-on-regional-district-airport-authority/it106952 , legal bills mounting, three lawsuits, restrictions on who he can contact at city hall, and a removal of his role as the city's official spokesperson, he keeps digging in his heels. He frequently repeats the refrain "refuse to be blocked." It's a philosophy derived from football that he applies to his work, and it's his unrelenting attitude that both seems to keep him in office and land him in trouble. Hamer-Jackson struck a populist chord in Kamloops when he ran in the 2022 election. He owns a downtown used automotive dealership, which opened in the early 1990s. In recent years, he reduced the inventory kept on site due to vandalism and he pointed the blame at a supportive housing site and shelters across the street. He often touts his role as the former representative for businesses on West Victoria Street, which is next door to the Mustard Seed shelter and support centre, the Rosethorn supportive housing site and the Emerald Centre shelter. Along with taking his concerns up with the city, provincial agencies and non-profits, he would also spend time with people on the streets. He got to know many, and some have died over the years, sometimes in the cold or by overdose. Some told him they'd come from other cities and he'd say they should be given help to go back, while he'd also pitch his idea for a a drug recovery centre outside the city centre https://infotel.ca/newsitem/one-relationship-already-threatening-to-test-new-kamloops-council/it94670 . It was largely the rise in homelessness, public drug use and petty crime that led to his mayoral campaign. But it's on that issue he was largely restricted from taking part in at the outset of his term, https://infotel.ca/newsitem/no-signs-of-end-to-mayors-year-long-legal-spats-with-non-profits/it95715 and he's seen himself as the victim ever since. His mayoral campaign included two major planks: accountability and public safety. One of his targets on the accountability front was the bylaw department overhaul and Byron McCorkell, who has since been promoted to acting chief administrative officer in David Trawin's absence. Hamer-Jackson's efforts to suspend McCorkell in the spring not only resulted in a reinstatement but a restriction on his ability to suspend McCorkell again. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/kamloops-mayors-authority-to-suspend-employees-stifled-by-council/it104143 Another target was social housing projects and shelters for which he has long called for a "third-party review" to assess their effectiveness. Council deflated his efforts soon after the election, sending a letter to BC Housing that confirmed there was no interest to pursue such a review. READ MORE: How Kamloops councillors and staff have leashed the mayor https://infotel.ca/newsitem/how-kamloops-councillors-and-staff-have-leashed-the-mayor/it104237 "You cannot lead a team that's backstabbing you right from the get-go," he said. "Real hard to lead a team that, again, it's obvious they didn't vote for me, but they're controlling everything now." In Hamer-Jackson's view, his conduct leading to the litany of investigations and council resolutions against him have all been in response to past wrongs. An investigation found he threatened to fire city manager David Trawin https://infotel.ca/newsitem/how-kamloops-councillors-and-staff-have-leashed-the-mayor/it104237 , but Hamer-Jackson said that was his response to a threat, to seek disqualification. He tried sharing details of a secretly recorded conversation with Trawin in a council meeting. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/kamloops-mayor-turns-over-controversial-recording-of-conversation-with-top-administrator/it100986 He intimated he would share details about a councillor's family situation, later revealed in court documents. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/kamloops-mayor-councillor-spill-the-beans-in-court-filings/it99714 When provincially-appointed advisor tried to help council find ways to resolve differences and work through dysfunction, he pointed to the mayor as the common denominator in its issues. One of his suggestions for the mayor was to let go of "perceived slights." Braun said the mayor holds on to grudges over months, or years, and recommended he find ways to let them go. It's advice the mayor wouldn't accept at the time, and he still won't now. "The reason we're here is because of what happened in the past," Hamer-Jackson said. During interviews, he will often return to incidents with city staff even during the 2022 election that he views as a concerted effort to interfere with his appointment as mayor. He claims Byron McCorkell, while in charge of the bylaw department, improperly had some of his election signs removed and took away his "exemption" for unsightly graffiti at his car dealership. At least some of those signs were returned upon appeal after convincing the bylaw department they were on land approved for election ads. Despite winning the election, he clings to the incidents as, according to Hamer-Jackson, they set the tone for his tenure in the mayor's chair. More than a year later, he would cite the incidents as some of his reasons for trying to suspend McCorkell. In one of the most recent episodes in the two-year saga, an investigation concluded Hamer-Jackson breached not only Kamloops council's code of conduct bylaw but also the Community Charter, https://infotel.ca/newsitem/mayor-hamer-jackson-leaked-documents-in-april-investigation-ruled-it-unlawful/it106876 provincial legislation that governs local governments across BC. Hamer-Jackson is quick to deflect blame for both. "I don't even know if it was the real document," he said of the workplace bullying investigation centred around his behaviour. READ MORE: City of Kamloops being sued over failed counter petitions to borrow $275M https://infotel.ca/newsitem/city-of-kamloops-being-sued-over-failed-counter-petitions-to-borrow-275m/it106929 Although he has never officially been given a copy of the investigation findings, and iNFOnews.ca has only received his version, there's no indication the one he said was mailed from Tofino was a fabrication. Even if it is, in fact, the Integrity Group report, he isn't willing to accept blame as it was previously leaked to the former newspaper Kamloops This Week. The source of that leak was never determined and an investigation absolved councillor Bill Sarai of an initial suspicion https://infotel.ca/newsitem/one-kamloops-councillor-concerned-leaks-investigators/it106092 , but Hamer-Jackson took its findings as proof of Sarai's guilt. Hamer-Jackson isn't willing to accept wrongdoing for releasing a closed council in April 2024 either, pleading ignorance and claiming he wasn't properly told it was confidential. He sent a photo of the closed council decision to iNFOnews.ca that afternoon. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/kamloops-mayors-authority-to-suspend-employees-stifled-by-council/it104143 He criticized the workplace investigations as rigged against him and brushed off any concerns of being disqualified from office over a Community Charter breach. "I've been threatened for disqualification from right out of the chute," he said. The next day would be the deadline initially given for him to vacate the office traditionally held by the mayor of Kamloops. City staff were at work renovating a new basement office meant for Hamer-Jackson, keeping him separated from staff. Hamer-Jackson was already restricted from accessing most staff areas at city hall without an escort, he cannot on his own speak directly to some administrative staff and the mayor's executive assistant doesn't often use the workspace outside his office, if at all. The newer decision that he move to a different office arose, at least in part, due to four active Worksafe investigations, councillor Mike O'Reilly said. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/hamer-jackson-kicked-out-of-kamloops-mayors-office-at-city-hall/it106719 Hamer-Jackson himself couldn't get WorkSafeBC to confirm whether he's being investigated and he later said he intends to tell WorkSafeBC that the complaints are fraudulent. Despite his reluctance to vacate his office, he's suspicious of intruders and secret recording devices inside the room. He learned in September that an argument between himself and councillor Bill Sarai nearly two years ago was recorded. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/how-kamloops-councillors-and-staff-have-leashed-the-mayor/it104237 When Sarai denied making the recording, Hamer-Jackson reported it to police suspecting that, if Sarai was being truthful, there may have been a microphone in the room. It seemed to affirm an earlier suspicion that grew after learning of electrical work that in the room while he was away. Kamloops RCMP would later dismiss the report, which Hamer-Jackson deduced to mean Sarai told police he recorded the argument himself. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/next-move-unclear-as-kamloops-mayor-learns-argument-with-councillor-secretly-recorded/it106916 Sarai wouldn't comment on the recording when reached by iNFOnews.ca, but he told Castanet Kamloops Hamer-Jackson is "paranoid" and "delusional." https://www.castanetkamloops.net/news/Kamloops/512059/Kamloops-mayor-files-police-complaint-over-suspicion-city-hall-office-might-have-been-bugged- READ MORE: Killer who strangled his pregnant Kamloops girlfriend granted day parole https://infotel.ca/newsitem/killer-who-strangled-his-pregnant-kamloops-girlfriend-granted-day-parole/it106932 Hamer-Jackson showed iNFOnews.ca his trick to detect intruders who go into his office while he's away: a tissue box pressed to the back of the door. Coming and going, Hamer-Jackson only opens the door as far as necessary to squeeze through. If the box his nearer to the wall than it should be upon his return, it's confirmation someone else was inside. He didn't say whether the box revealed any intrusions so far and wouldn't make any accusations when asked if anything was missing. "I think at some point I got a message that was sent that I've been looking for. I can't find it," he said. "I'm not going to say that, but I've requested it." The mayor's computer was moved from to the new basement office at the end of October, but in typical Mayor Hamer-Jackson fashion, he's digging in his heels. He said it prompted him to start taking meetings outside of city hall to Tru Market, his dealership a block to the west. "People want to meet with me, they phone city hall, ask for the mayor. The deputy mayor is supposed to put it on my calendar. I'll meet people at 260 Victoria Street West," he said. "Maybe I'll even have town halls there." He no longer uses the mayor's office, he's not considered the City's official spokesperson and he's not trusted with confidential documents. He skipped a major local government conference in September and said ministers have stopped taking his phone calls https://infotel.ca/newsitem/kamloops-mayor-snubs-ubcm-conference-as-waste-of-time/it106550 . He's been asked to sign apology letters and take courses on workplace conduct courses in response to bullying allegations, along with a course on confidentiality. Braun's advisory report listed ten recommendations to improve his relations at city hall, but there's no indication he has fulfilled any. Council has slashed 25 per cent from his salary, removed him from outside boards and won't allow him into closed committee meetings — committees they formed in defiance of those created by Hamer-Jackson last year and which he refused to join. He launched defamation lawsuits — one against a councillor and the other a developer. His former lawyer is taking him to court over $35,000 in allegedly unpaid bills. Hamer-Jackson's his current lawyer is no longer representing him for code of conduct investigations, while he put his business property and a boat up for sale to help pay legal bills. Despite the setbacks, he affirms his commitment to the "goals" he made on the campaign trail. Asked how he plans to push his own efforts through, with the restrictions on his role as mayor and inability to court council's support, he said, "I'm working on it." Hamer-Jackson said he often hears complaints from the public, meets with people who have concerns and often encourages them to bring their issues up with the rest of council. His advice is often to both email council and to make their voice heard at council meetings, an opportunity that may be taken away because of worsening behaviour by some audience members in council chambers. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/kamloops-council-faces-outcry-postpones-decision-on-public-inquiries-at-meetings/it106943 In the wake of continued limitations on his role at Kamloops city hall, an early investigation that found he bullied top-level staff and a later one that found he illegally leaked confidential documents, Hamer-Jackson continues to ask for "proof" of his wrongdoing, especially with regard to mistreatment of staff. He released the Integrity Group report, which details bullying and harassment claims against him, in April in a supposed effort to clear his name and defend himself. Asked whether he felt it paid off, he said "it's on its way." "If whatever document I received in the mail is anything close to the original, then I'm glad it got sent to me, because if it is, the only sensitive information in there is people not telling the truth," Hamer-Jackson said. Entering the third year of his term, there's no sign that the Hamer-Jackson Show is near its finale. This year included such highlights as the Braun report and a unanimous call for his resignation, then a "resignation related" news conference weeks later that became a rally for his 2026 mayoral campaign https://infotel.ca/newsitem/true-or-false-fact-checking-kamloops-mayors-press-conference-statements/it105799 . A business gala speech this spring nearly went sideways when city officials caught wind of the photos he considered using in a slideshow. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/city-scraps-graphic-photos-from-kamloops-mayors-speech/it103795 He filed his second defamation lawsuit, bringing to light previously unpublished allegations that he groped a developer's wife at a bar. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/kamloops-mayor-accused-of-groping-developers-wife-in-response-to-lawsuit/it106133 The final chapter for the year came as he appeared in court against his former lawyer David McMillan who claims Hamer-Jackson owes him $35,000, https://infotel.ca/newsitem/closed-door-hearing-over-hamer-jacksons-unpaid-legal-bills-possible/it106851 while the mayor was also attempting to resist the city's move to oust him from his office. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/hamer-jackson-kicked-out-of-kamloops-mayors-office-at-city-hall/it106719 His hearings against McMillan and Neustaeter are each expected to start by January. One question still left unclear in the wake of past investigations is whether his Community Charter breach over leaked documents could also land him in court. But Hamer-Jackson doesn't seem to question whether he will end up in court with the city in some way. Sitting in his office, he points to the stack envelopes on his bookshelf marked as confidential. "I don't open those," he said. "Moving down the road, if you open those, there's a chance they can't be used outside this theatre." Go here for more of our Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson coverage. https://infotel.ca/tag/reid-hamer-jackson To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry mailto:llandry@infonews.ca  or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. 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