Action 22 Kamloops: former city councillor forms slate as he intends to run for mayor

KAMLOOPS — A former Kamloops city councillor is intending to run for mayor in 2022, and he hopes to have numerous council candidates under the same banner alongside him.

Ray Dhaliwal, businessman and president of the Kamloops Multicultural Society, says he created a political party – Action 22 Kamloops – that’s now registered with ElectionsBC ahead of the B.C. municipal elections in October.

The former councillor who won his seat in the city’s byelection in 2017, but lost his re-election bid in 2018, says Action 22 Kamloops is a spin off former Kamloops Mayor and MLA Phil Gaglardi’s Action 88 slate that saw him win the mayoral election in 1988.

Dhaliwal says his reasoning for forming a slate ahead of the 2022 B.C. municipal elections is if he were to be successful in his mayoral campaign, he would “be on an island” if he didn’t have the right people behind him.

“I do believe having a slate this time is what Kamloops really needs. We need to have solid people, fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability going forward,” Dhaliwal says.

During his one year in council, Dhaliwal says he saw frivolous spending from the City of Kamloops. He wants Action 22 Kamloops to take control of city council and the mayor’s chair and “bring it back to the people.”

“The people are the ones who should be the ones to make decisions in the city. They need the strong council and mayor to make that happen,” Dhaliwal says. “That has been lost because the decisions that have been made, I believe, are all coming from staff and council is not strong enough to speak up and challenge staff at all times with their decisions.”

Dhaliwal believes the City of Kamloops and the B.C. government opening three shelters to provide space for people experiencing without consulting the residents is an example of a lack of communication and transparency.

“They will have a say. There might not be anything a municipal mayor or council can do, but at least they will know that we’ve done everything we could to address the issues,” Dhaliwal says.

Going forward, Dhaliwal says Action 22 Kamloops has Jamie Allan signed up to run for council in 2022. He says he’s interviewing candidates for council, with potentially three more joining Action 22 Kamloops, and is putting an open call to the community to find residents interested in running for council with his party.

Dhaliwal is the second Kamloops resident to announce their intention to run for mayor in 2022. Long-time city councillor Arjun Singh announced his intentions for the mayoral seat on Friday (March 4). Current Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian previously announced he wouldn’t be seeking re-election.

The B.C. municipal elections are set for Oct. 15, 2022.