Kamloops mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson in his office on Oct. 21, 2024, a day before his deadline to move to a newly-built basement office.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson suspected a Kamloops city councillor "hacked" into another board's meetings, but the subject of that complaint said he simply asked staff.

The mayor took the complaint to Kamloops RCMP, but according to councillor Kelly Hall's version of events, it's likely a file that's dead in the water.

"From the mayor's perspective, there's maybe a lack of awareness as to the availability of information that comes from the (BC Urban Mayors' Caucus)," Hall said.

Since May 2024 when council notified organizations across the province that Hamer-Jackson no longer speaks for the city, meeting notes have been routinely forwarded to council's executive assistant.

"When meetings happen, we obviously get copies of everything that's happening," Hall said.

It's at least the second time Hamer-Jackson filed a police complaint that targeted a fellow member of council.

The Urban Mayors' Caucus is made up of mayors from the province's 17 largest cities. While Hamer-Jackson was stripped of his roles among various boards like the regional district and airport authority, the mayor's caucus opted to keep Hamer-Jackson on.

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It appears Hamer-Jackson didn't know the notes were shared, so when Hall got a hold of the notes last month, he suspected Hall "hacked" into the mayors' caucus meetings to get them. He took the complaint to police.

Kamloops RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Crystal Evelyn wouldn't provide details, but she did say there is an ongoing "mischief to data" report which was filed Jan. 18.

Hamer-Jackson has accused councillors of trying to "weasel" into the caucus and subvert his role when they sent letters across the province in May 2024 to say the mayor no longer speaks for council. He accused council, or Hall himself, of now trying it again.

"It's the Urban Mayors' Caucus.' It's not the 'Urban Councillors' Caucus,'" he said. "Where does he feel he's going to align with us?"

The mayor is protective of his only official job representing council outside city hall, while also suspicious of what he sees as intentions to strip that role from him.

The urban mayors meet periodically and recently released at 13-item list of requests for the provincial government, largely focused on crime, health care and homelessness.

Hall has asked Hamer-Jackson to share more details about discussions at the mayors' caucus and pressing issues for other cities, but it's been met with resistance.

"For whatever reason he's been very reluctant to share information with us at council," Hall said.

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What Hall got was meeting notes about the 13-item list that outlined the mayors' united issues for various BC ministers. He said Kamloops requests to BC ministries can be better framed to "parallel" with the mayors' caucus if there was more information at council's disposal.

That explanation didn't sit well with Hamer-Jackson, who said there's "no point" in sharing information with Hall, claiming the issues raised by the mayor's caucus were "opposite" to what Hall wants. Hamer-Jackson continues to see Hall's effort to get information as a move to subvert his role.

"It's not enough for them to tell (council) that, 'No, we're going to deal with the real mayor.' So now he continues to want to be included in everything we do," Hamer-Jackson said when confronted with Hall's version.

Hall also admitted he was "coy" with the mayor when Hamer-Jackson asked him how he got the meeting notes. He was nondescript and told the mayor he is "resourceful," without revealing their source.

Asked why, Hall said he worried Hamer-Jackson might "retaliate" against council's executive assistant.

Though he denied an effort to strip Hamer-Jackson of his role within the caucus, Hall also downplayed the mayor's ability to act on the board since he's not speaking for the rest of council.

"Being that he no longer speaks for council, he simply sits there as Reid. A mayor that perhaps has lost his way, lost his voice," he said.

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