Kamloops mayor can no longer move freely through city hall

Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson didn't know he'd need an escort to walk around city hall when he arrived this morning. He needs an escort if he's moving around the building now as he discovered some doors were locked and his key fob wouldn't work. "The guy at the front reception desk wasn't allowed to open the door so I could get back into my office," Hamer-Jackson said. It barred him going near staff, instead forcing him to detour around through council chambers. "If you come into city hall and ask for me, I can't come out and greet you without being escorted," he said. "It's just crazy." The change means he is separated from making direct contact with city employees at city hall without someone else present, seemingly with the exception of council's assistant. It comes on the heels of his release of a confidential employment investigation centred around his treatment of four employees early in the term, but it's not clear whether that's what prompted the change. Hamer-Jackson said he doesn't know why he's been barred from accessing city hall or when the decision was made. He added that there were discussions at city hall in recent days about changes to the key fobs, but he did not know it meant his would no longer work. Councillor Bill Sarai, deputy mayor for April, would not comment on the move. Acting chief administrative officer Byron McCorkell was not immediately available. 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. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .