Kamloops councillor apologizes for cutting accusation that mayor made foul joke

KAMLOOPS — The one who denied it had not, in fact, supplied it.

A Kamloops councillor has apologized for falsely accusing the mayor of making a low-brow joke at a community function.

The air was thick with tension as Councillor Stephen Karpuk made his report during council’s regular meeting Tuesday (June 27).

Karpuk said he attended a Canadian Home Builders Association Kamloops dinner in which Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson ripped an audible embarrassment — telling a fart joke in front of a room of more than 200 people.

“The mayor asked whether we should pass more gas as a way to generate more green energy,” Karpuk said Tuesday. “The groans, in front of 230 people, were embarrassing to me. Not thrilled. ‘Do you want me to fart more?’ Really disgusting.”

Hamer-Jackson immediately denied making the joke, saying Karpuk was “dead wrong.” Later in the discussion, he described Karpuk’s accusation as “just a bunch of B.S.”

Wednesday morning, Karpuk issued a public statement and apology, saying his accusation toward Hamer-Jackson backfired.

Karpuk has since learned the bomb was not dropped by the mayor, but by another attendee at the dinner. The councillor admitted his back was turned when the joke was made.

The apology is reprinted verbatim below.

In his statement, Karpuk said his emotions were elevated by statements Hamer-Jackson made during the mayor’s report Tuesday. Karpuk said Hamer-Jackson criticized community service officers (CSOs), and that those remarks were offside.

Hamer-Jackson said he felt his comments about CSOs were simply passing along criticisms he received from the public.

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Public statement and apology by Councillor Stephen Karpuk:

Good morning and thank you for giving me the opportunity this morning to set the record straight.

Yesterday I made a few avoidable mistakes during our regular city council meeting.

Yesterday in the council meeting, during the Mayor’s report, I and others took offense to some inappropriate comments that the mayor made about city staff. Subsequently, in my council report I asked the mayor to apologize for his comments towards our staff and reminded him of our role at city hall. As an employer for our city and being responsible for our workplace I felt it was important to speak my concerns. Given the past months of stress, frustration and emotions that I have endured dealing with city business I became emotionally hijacked after the mayor’s comments about staff. My mistake was not stepping out and away from the situation in that moment. Instead, I engaged the mayor and let my emotions speak. Letting my emotions speak was wrong, inappropriate and I apologize.

My next mistake was letting my emotions speak my accusation of the offside joke that I was told that mayor had done at the public meeting. I should not have done that in yesterday’s public meeting. I apologize for doing so. The correct approach would have been to raise my concerns with the mayor in private and deal with it. For reasons I can’t explain I let my emotions get the better of me and I falsely accused the mayor of the joke. I subsequently found out the mayor did not ask the joke. My accusation on the joke was based on incorrect information. Had I dealt with it prior to the meeting I would not be here today to own my mistakes. I apologize for this.

So I would like to publicly apologize to the mayor, Reid Hamer Jackson. I apologize your worship for any harms that my public accusation on the offensive public joke may have caused you, your family or those who support you. I acted emotionally, instead of rationally. I am truly sorry for this. I ask for your forgiveness on my mistakes. My sincerest apologies to you. I will reflect on your words from yesterday that, “we all make mistakes. That we aren’t perfect.” I will learn from this.

I would also like to apologize to my colleagues, our city staff, the citizens of Kamloops and my family. I would like to apologize for my behaviour and comments yesterday. I did not conduct myself in a manner that I would expect of an elected official, especially one for our great city of Kamloops. I will learn from this lesson. I promise to bring up my skills, decorum and representation to the level that people should expect of an elected official. I can do better and I promise to be better. I ask for forgiveness as I own my mistakes. Thank you.