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

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Kamloops city councillor Katie Neustaeter has accused the mayor of trying to use her family as a way to control her.

She paints an entirely different picture of Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson as she refutes his claim she defamed him both in public and behind the scenes.

In a recent court filing, Neustaeter said Hamer-Jackson repeatedly violated personal and professional boundaries at city hall, which she previously said in a joint statement with council earlier this year.

Although they would not answer questions or give examples during the March press conference, Neustaeter collected several examples of Hamer-Jackson's "disruptive" behaviour as she responds to the his legal challenge.

READ MORE: Kamloops mayor launches defamation suit against councillor

The mayor filed a lawsuit in BC Supreme Court last month, claiming she defamed him and "maliciously" damaged his reputation in the eyes of the public. He filed his notice of claim on June 12 and she responded yesterday, with her legal fees supported by the City.

Neustaeter claims Hamer-Jackson repeatedly tried to contact her father, former MLA Kevin Krueger, and disclosed personal family information to the rest of council and staff, according to BC Supreme Court documents.

During a Jan. 23 Zoom meeting with council and chief administrative officer David Trawin, Hamer-Jackson said Neustaeter "would not like" the topic of the meeting he pitched.

He went on to say he set up a meeting with her dad and he knew a lot of "stuff" about her family, according to court documents.

She also said Hamer-Jackson wanted Krueger to get Neustaeter's help in firing a staff member, who isn't named in court documents.

READ MORE: Kamloops councillor 'looking forward' to defending herself in defamation suit launched by mayor

She subsequently told him not to involve her family in City business multiple times in writing, included in court documents.

Although Hamer-Jackson filed his claim against Neustaeter alone following the March joint statement, her legal response included claims about his behaviour as it relates to other City staff and councillors.

Neustaeter claims Hamer-Jackson refused to place councillor Dale Bass on the deputy mayor rotation because her husband was critical of him on social media, then overturning that decision when he was questioned. She said Hamer-Jackson also suggested at least two councillors were in conflict of interest because their spouses are City employees, and he tried to interfere with councillor Bill Sarai's son's employment, who is a bylaw officer.

Among the multiple other examples, she said he tried to put his own "political allies" in City staff positions, then refused to support candidates who were not his allies.

READ MORE: Removing the mayor of Kamloops, if it comes to that, won't be easy

It's not clear who he attempted to hire, but his sweeping changes to council committees earlier this year included at least one person who worked on his campaign and two others who donated to his campaign.

She said Hamer-Jackson gave confidential information from closed council meetings to people who were not councillors or staff, and he withheld information from council given by senior levels of government.

Hamer-Jackson referred to his lawyer David McMillan for comment on Neustaeter's response when contacted this morning.

"You're telling me stuff I don't know nothing about," he said, when asked about some of her specific claims. 

He refused to comment on whether he tried to use Krueger to leverage Neustaeter, including an attempt to dismiss a City employee. He also would not comment an allegation he disclosed closed council information to people outside of City hall.

Neustaeter's 30-page response was filed on July 24. Neither of their claims have been proven in court.

She denies defaming the mayor, claiming most of her comments about the mayor represent fair comment on matters of public interest.

Hamer-Jackson told iNFOnews.ca last month he wants to keep Neustaeter "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."

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