Kamloops Coun. O’Reilly says Mayor Hamer-Jackson thrives on chaos, but council will stay course; mayor refutes claim

KAMLOOPS — Mike O’Reilly is Kamloops city council’s spokesperson for media queries on Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson’s decision on Tuesday (March 26) to suspend acting City of Kamloops CAO Byron McCorkell.

“There’s no rationale, no rhyme or reason, for anything the mayor does,” O’Reilly, deputy mayor for the month of March, told CFJC Today on Good Friday (March 29).

“What is very clear is that the mayor loves chaos. He thrives on chaos and, time and time again, this council comes together, deals with the chaos that’s created, gets us back on track and we wait for the mayor to do something different.”

O’Reilly’s chaos theory was offered in response to a question on what Hamer-Jackson’s long-term plan was for the McCorkell suspension, which was overturned by council on Thursday (March 28) by unanimous vote during a special closed meeting.

“That’s dead wrong,” Hamer-Jackson said of the notion he knew the suspension would not be upheld, and his plan was to spark unrest.

“I don’t care what he’s saying. I got elected on having a safer community and accountability. I’m doing what I said I’m going to do. I don’t see things getting any better. I see the curb appeal of Kamloops getting worse. There’s more crime. I really believe we’ve got to move our community in a different way.”

Hamer-Jackson was standing outside of New York-New York on the Las Vegas strip when reached on Friday, a day before his son, Tyrell, was slated to toil for the Vancouver Warriors against the hometown Desert Dogs in National Lacrosse League [NLL] action.

The mayor said the plan was not to create chaos, but to present information to council on April 9 during a regular meeting that has potential to be influential on his quest to convince those around the horseshoe that the suspension of McCorkell would allow for beneficial change in the city.

“Everybody seems to ignore the Community Charter, but it’s the frickin’ rulebook, man,” Hamer-Jackson said. “Yeah, I would have had enough information. I’m not going to give it to you. I’ve got it. I’ve got to put it all together. One day, I’ll show it to council.”

McCorkell was last fall named deputy CAO. He took the city’s top job in March, when CAO David Trawin stepped away on personal leave.

The mayor was asked how ousting McCorkell would lead to progress in the city.

“I wouldn’t get the pushback,” Hamer-Jackson said. “I wouldn’t get as much pushback. It’s just time. We need a change. We can’t keep doing the same thing over and over.”

Hamer-Jackson offered three reasons why he deemed it necessary to suspend the city’s top employee: McCorkell’s role in “hijacking” the mayor’s recent speech at a Kamloops Chamber of Commerce dinner, the acting CAOs repeated suggestion that street issues in Kamloops are no worse than anywhere else and signs the mayor says were picked up at McCorkell’s request during the 2022 civic election campaign.

“There are a lot of allegations and I know for a fact that our election signs were picked up and I’m talking 20 to 25 per cent of them,” Hamer-Jackson said. “We can’t continue to let this happen. What happens if it happens again, just because you don’t like the person?”

When pushed for more reasons that might warrant suspension, Hamer-Jackson said he has them, but wants to reveal them first to councillors.

“There’s a few pieces here, a few pieces there,” Hamer-Jackson said. “There is more. There will be a day where council will listen.”

Hamer-Jackson said it is clear in the B.C. Community Charter that following his decision to suspend McCorkell he should have been able to make his case to council for them to ratify the decision during the next scheduled regular council meeting, which is slated for April 9.

Maria Mazzotta, the city’s corporate officer, told Castanet Kamloops that section of the charter references council’s next meeting and does not specify it must be the next regular meeting.

City council issued a press release on Wednesday (March 27) backing McCorkell and the in-camera, special meeting was called for Thursday, with Hamer-Jackson saying his absence was due to previously made travel plans.

“[Kamloops Coun.] Stephen Karpuk gave me a long text, [saying] ‘Are you really going to go and watch your son play professional lacrosse in Vegas?’ Yeah, Stephen. The kid is only the second kid out of Kamloops to make it to the NLL,” Hamer-Jackson said. “I read on the news already you made up your mind before the special meeting, before the closed meeting, so hello, yeah.”

Hamer-Jackson suggested council met without him “somehow, somewhere” prior to the special meeting on Thursday.

“Mike O’Reilly got on Global News and Mike O’Reilly talked all about what was going to happen in closed meetings,” Hamer-Jackson said, noting he takes issue with O’Reilly saying his decision to suspend McCorkell is unprecedented and should only have taken place in an emergency situation. “They had already made up their mind. They didn’t run on a slate of eight. They should be objective.”

Hamer-Jackson said McCorkell called the special meeting and the mayor noted a perceived conflict of interest.

“There are four councillors that have immediate family members that work for the City of Kamloops and Byron is the boss,” Hamer-Jackson said. “The Charter doesn’t say Byron or the deputy mayor calls a special meeting. I told them I could be there on Monday. They jumped in two days later instead of on the ninth [of April] because they didn’t want to listen to what I’ve got to say.”

What was the plan to fill the void in McCorkell’s absence?

“There would be a process,” Hamer-Jackson said. “It’s not unusual. You do not just pick up people’s election signs just because. I could go on and on.”

A statement issued Wednesday noted council, with the exception of the mayor, has the utmost confidence in McCorkell — a city employee for more than 25 years — and chose the earliest possible meeting date considering timelines and requirements under the law.

Mazzotta told Castanet Kamloops she has repeatedly told Hamer-Jackson she does not have any concerns over conflict of interest for those members of council who, in the past, may have declared conflict on matters relating to their family members.

“That’s her opinion,” Hamer-Jackson said. “That’s her legal opinion. I don’t care what she said. She’s told me several times I’m in conflict. She’s never stepped up once in a council meeting and said that anybody else was in conflict. It’s opinion. That’s something that may end up in the courts. I sent corporate officer Maria Mazzotta a legal opinion about councillors making decisions on the fly about conflict. You might have to ask a few more questions.”

A joint statement from city and council on Thursday evening said the mayor’s claim of conflict of interest is without legal merit. O’Reilly said it was him, not McCorkell, who called the special meeting and suggested Hamer-Jackson’s quorum logic is flawed.

“He made comments about there potentially not being quorum because of conflict. Yet, at the same time, he asked three of the people that he suggested were in conflict to be witnesses in the suspension he was handing Byron McCorkell,” O’Reilly said, noting Hamer-Jackson’s decision to suspend McCorkell was arbitrary. “Really, you can’t nail that down.”

Hamer-jackson said that if the special meeting was scheduled for Monday (April 1), when he is available, he would have enough time to gather information to present to council.

The mayor was asked if he should have had the information already gathered prior to making a decision of this magnitude.

“I’ve got the information,” Hamer-Jackson said. “I just have to compile it. That’s what the Community Charter says. I would be prepared by April 9, when the next meeting is.”

O’Reilly said council remains dedicated to completing the strategic plan it adopted unanimously.

“It was a bit of a chaotic week around city hall and really it shouldn’t have been,” O’Reilly said. “I have no idea why he continues to do this. This isn’t the first blindsiding this council has had in the last year and it’s not going to be the last.”

Council is still open to working with the mayor, according to O’Reilly.

“He does not reach out to anybody,” O’Reilly said. “There is no communication coming from the mayor’s office in any way, shape or form other than, frankly, what I hear in the news and that’s how we find out the things the mayor is doing or not doing.”

The mayor denied O’Reilly’s claims about communication and said he plans to change nothing.

“I’ll keep doing my job,” Hamer-Jackson said. “I’ll keep going straight forward. I’m going to keep doing the same thing. I’m not going to change. Why would I change for a few individuals?”