Kamloops mayoral candidate Reid Hamer-Jackson took the win with more than 30% of the vote on Oct. 15, 2022.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Kamloops's mayor-elect took more than 30% of the vote as of Saturday night, beating out competition from experienced candidates.

The political newcomer offered an alternative to candidates that have already been elected to local government and based on his public safety-focused campaign, may have tapped into a frustrated populace.

Whether he won on his own merits or whether the votes were directed away from the incumbent councillors is still unclear.

"People were drawn to somebody tapping into the anger, fear and frustration in the community," mayoral candidate and outgoing city councillor Sadie Hunter said. "I think it was a protest vote."

Hamer-Jackson pulled off the win on Oct. 15 with 7,298 votes, which was 31 per cent of the ballots. Dieter Dudy was in second with 5,650 votes, while Sadie Hunter got 4,578 and Arjun Singh, the longest serving councillor on the ballot, got 2,932.

More than 50% of votes went toward the incumbents trying to replace outgoing mayor Ken Christian.

Ray Dhaliwal, who previously served a brief stint on council, came in last with 2,629 votes after running on a similar public safety-focused campaign as Hamer-Jackson.

Just 29% of eligible voters cast ballots in Kamloops this year, or 23,218 out of 80,025, according to the City of Kamloops.

"I think he also had a single issue that resonated very well with the community based on his frustrations," outgoing mayor Ken Christian said. Three sitting councillors jumping to take his place left an opportunity for Hamer-Jackson or Dhaliwal to "exploit" and split the votes.

Hamer-Jackson's platform included a heavy focus on public safety, with homelessness, crime and addictions lumped together.

His claim to fame in the Kamloops political scene is his efforts to create a voluntary treatment centre in the outer reaches of the city, along with his calls to launch a third-party review into operations at supportive housing facilities and shelters in the city.

To him, the votes were cast by residents in support of Hamer-Jackson's campaign, rather than simply voting against the status quo.

"I think what attracted voters is I had clear goals," he said.

He's been criticized as a single-issue candidate, which he disputes.

"In June, I was in front of council discussing parking, housing and transit," he said. That was during a public question period at a council meeting.

However, at candidate forums ahead of Oct. 15 "no one was listening" to his ideas on other topics, he said.

"A lot of people are fed up and tired from everything that's happened to us in last three years," Coun. Dale Bass said, referring to COVID-19, rising crime and a worsening drug crisis.

"In the case of mayor, we had three strong incumbents running, perhaps that split the vote. I think even two would have split," she said.

Although the incumbents saw no success in the mayoral race, three sitting councillors will return for another term with a fourth who returned to elected office after some years away.

Bass, Mike O'Reilly and Bill Sarai will return for another four-year term. Nancy Bepple is returning to City Hall after she edged out Randy Sunderman for the eighth spot on council.

"The idea of having a completely new council might have been too much for (voters) to think about," Bass said, adding that she's frustrated with the low voter turnout.

Dismay over the low turnout was reflected by both Dhaliwal and Dudy when iNFOnews.ca spoke with them after the election.

"I’m disappointed because I felt I had something to offer the people of Kamloops but the people made a choice and we’ll soon see whether that was a good one. At the same time, what does it take to get voters to engage? There is either complacency here or people just don’t care," Dudy said.

The current council headed by mayor Ken Christian will have another meeting Oct. 18, then the next council will have its first meeting on Nov. 1.

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