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

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

The rift on Kamloops city council is growing wider as a spat between Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson and councillor Katie Neustaeter heads to BC Supreme Court.

Months after councillors stood together and issued a joint statement accusing Hamer-Jackson of breaching personal and professional boundaries and belittling others and disrupting City business, the mayor launched a defamation lawsuit against Neustaeter.

"The allegation that (Hamer-Jackson) was guilty of unspecified misconduct of a personal and scandalous nature... was made willfully and maliciously," a notice of claim filed in Kamloops, June 12, reads. "It was intended to damage (Hamer-Jackson's) reputation in the eyes of the public, and has done so."

The eight councillors joined together in a March 17 press conference at city hall, where Neustaeter read the joint statement aloud.

It appeared to be in response to the mayor's decision to oust some councillors from leading council committees, instead adding members of the public to those positions. As Neustaeter read the statement aloud, however, it became clear there were interpersonal conflicts between Hamer-Jackson and council.

"While we as councillors have been subjected to repeated disrespect, violations of personal and professional boundaries, belittling and constantly disruptive behaviour by the mayor, we've been willing to absorb the impact in service to our community," she said at the press conference.

At the outset, council told reporters in the room they would not be taking questions, so the details of the mayor's behaviour weren't released to the public, despite the claims.

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 libelous 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.

Hamer-Jackson, represented in court by lawyer David McMillan, begins his claim by recounting his attempts to meet with Neustaeter's father, former MLA Kevin Krueger.

Krueger, as Hamer-Jackson claims, initiated the attempts to schedule a meeting together and aimed to offer guidance to the newly elected mayor.

After months of back-and-forth attempts, Neustaeter stepped in and told the mayor not to meet with a family member for City business, according to court documents.

"Mr. Mayor, never harass, meet with, attempt to meet with, or otherwise involve a member of my family in your dealings again. This includes disclosing confidential information, slandering staff, and violating personal boundaries in the attempt to justify doing so," she wrote in an email to mayor and council on Feb. 13, according to court documents.

She went on to accuse Hamer-Jackson of using her family in an attempt to influence her or City business. She claimed he tried to meet with Krueger behind her back, proving "nefarious intent."

Hamer-Jackson claims Krueger cancelled a Feb. 8 meeting at city hall just a day before it was scheduled and he was not sure why.

Krueger previously told iNFOnews.ca he thought meeting with the mayor would be "nothing but grief," so he cancelled on his own accord.

"It is going to get personal if my daughter thinks I'm somehow campaigning against her," he told iNFOnews.ca in April.

Although the March 17 press conference included a joint statement from all of council, Hamer-Jackson is focusing his defamation suit against Neustaeter, who read it aloud to reporters.

He's attempted to obtain evidence in the fallout since council accused him of breaching personal and professional boundaries, but claims he has not received any.

"(Neustaeter) has no factual basis for having made the March 17 statement. Nonetheless, she has refused to retract the statement and has willfully permitted the damaging effects of the statement to continue to harm (Hamer-Jackson) and his family," his claim reads.

Hamer-Jackson told iNFOnews.ca he's heard people in public speculate he's engaging in sexual harassment at city hall, claiming he's been called a "pervert" since the March joint statement accused him of breaching professional and personal boundaries.

"This stuff is hard on my family too," he said.

He said the City won't be contributing with his legal fees and he won't be distracted from doing City business.

"It's been very distracting over the last few months. So I think we can leave this up to the law and focus on business," he said.

The notice of claim was filed in BC Supreme Court on June 12. None of his claims have been proven in court and Neustaeter has not responded.

Neustaeter would not comment on the defamation claim and had not yet been served the documents as of this morning.

— This story was updated at 12:15 p.m., June 15, 2023, with comments from Reid Hamer-Jackson.

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