FILE PHOTO - Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson (right) and Kamloops councillor Katie Neustaeter (left) at a March 28, 2023, council meeting.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

A Kamloops city councillor is preparing to go to court after the mayor filed a defamation suit against her this week.

"I look forward to defending myself," councillor Katie Neustaeter said. "My lawyer will be filing in due time and we will let things play out from there."

Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson filed his claim against her in BC Supreme Court, June 12. He claims Neustaeter defamed him and made libellous comments during a March 17 press conference.

It was part of a joint statement from all eight city councillors who were responding to Hamer-Jackson's behaviour towards council, largely behind closed doors.

READ MORE: Kamloops mayor launches defamation suit against councillor

It was short on details about his behaviour but councillors claimed Hamer-Jackson belittled others at city hall and breached professional and personal boundaries.

Although Neustaeter was reading a joint statement from all eight councillors, Hamer-Jackson set his sights specifically on her. He told iNFOnews.ca he wants to keep her "accountable" for what he sees as defaming and libellous comments.

"The other people were standing behind her, but at this point I think she needs to be held accountable," he said. "If I didn't do this, I believe I would be letting the citizens of the community down... It's so easy to just go 'blah blah blah,' and not even care about what people think."

While the joint statement included broad accusations about his behaviour, Hamer-Jackson is not satisfied he was ever provided evidence that he violated any boundaries.

READ MORE: Kamloops mayor and councillor's feud a family affair

Neustaeter only learned of the suit when contacted by iNFOnews.ca yesterday morning, June 15, and she was served later that day.

Today she referred to her legal counsel as "her lawyer," but wouldn't clarify whether or not it's the city's solicitor.

"We're at the very beginning of this process," she said. "The details will come together in due time."

The City will cover Neustaeter's legal fees. Hamer-Jackson will be paying his lawyer David McMillan out of pocket.

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According to the City's bylaw, it will compensate staff and elected officials who must defend themselves in court if it's in connection to their functions with the City.

It's not clear whether the legal action will add any official hiccups to City business, but it will hang over the heads of council.

Councillor Mike O'Reilly said council will take steps to make sure Neustaeter is comfortable sharing the room with the mayor.

"I would expect business as usual to continue," O'Reilly said. "There are certain things we can talk with Coun. Neustaeter about — what she's comfortable with or not comfortable with — to make sure it's a safe working environment."

He said the latest addition to the drama at city hall is something he believes they can work around.

"There's been tension in quite a few (meetings) over the last nine months," he said.

Publicly, councillors seem to agree they can still focus on getting to work for the constituents they represent.

"We will continue to manage the chaos and focus on the work," Neustaeter said.

The mayor said he plans to focus on city business and "leave this up to the law" to deal with.

Council has scheduled a special closed meeting for June 20 for the receipt of legal advice and to discuss "litigation or potential litigation" involving the City. It's unclear if this is related and it's also likely the mayor won't be attending. Since it's a closed meeting, it's not clear whether any information about or from that meeting will be released to the public.

What is clear is none of the councillors knew about the mayor's plans to launch a lawsuit against one of his fellow councillors.

Neustaeter hasn't officially responded to the mayor's claims in court and none of his claims have been proven.

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