Acting chief administrative officer Byron McCorkell

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/City of Kamloops

Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson is giving the city's top employee the boot, claiming it's time for a "new direction."

Acting chief administrative officer Byron McCorkell was suspended on March 26 during a meeting with the mayor. They were accompanied by councillor Margot Middleton because Hamer-Jackson isn't allowed to speak with McCorkell without at least one other person in the room, according to the mayor.

"We got to change the direction of our city, so yes I did suspend deputy McCorkell," Hamer-Jackson said.

The suspension was first reported by RadioNL, which cited unnamed sources. Hamer-Jackson confirmed the suspension to iNFOnews.ca.

McCorkell has been in the acting chief administrative officer position since earlier this month after David Trawin took a leave of absence. It's not clear when or if Trawin will return.

Council will hold a closed meeting tomorrow, March 28, in which they will decide on how to respond. Hamer-Jackson would need a two-thirds approval vote from council to fire McCorkell. 

A news release from the city in response to the suspension indicates the mayor won't have support from any of the eight councillors, while it's not clear whether Hamer-Jackson will even attend the meeting.

"Council would act more quickly but this is the earliest meeting date that can be arranged in light of requirements and timelines under the law," the city news release read.

The mayor acted "unilaterally and without prior consultation" with council, according to the news release.

"He provided no grounds or justification for his surprise suspension of the acting CAO and has provided no such explanation to date," it read.

When asked how McCorkell's dismissal would change the city's direction in his favour, the mayor said, "I don't feel it's the same all over, and Byron's been saying that for many years." 

Hamer-Jackson was referring to the homelessness and drug crisis.

"The world is rotating, it's the same all over. To be honest with you, I care about people all over the world, and I care about people in Vernon, Kelowna and anywhere else, but I care more about people in Kamloops and the businesses, the people that are struggling with crime and everything like that," he said. "And I don't believe it's the same all over... The highest crime areas we have are around specific supportive housing or shelters."

While he acknowledged the mental health and homelessness crisis is largely a provincial responsibility, he said cities have their own unique influence on how they're dealt with.

Deputy mayor for the month councillor Mike O'Reilly said McCorkell is an "exemplary employee," who is respected in cities around the province for his department's role in addressing the "evolving homelessness and drug situation."

As for the mayor's actions, he said it's another example of the "chaos" Hamer-Jackson's brought to city hall this term.

"Over the last 513 days, unfortunately Reid Hamer-Jackson the candidate has not been able to make the transition to Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson. That's a very big step and unfortunately he's not there yet," O'Reilly said.

The mayor told iNFOnews.ca he isn't available to attend a meeting this week, but it appears council will move ahead regardless to address the suspension.

"I certainly hope the mayor attends this meeting to deal with an issue that he unilaterally created. He created chaos not just for council but for the organization and our 900 employees," O'Reilly said.

It's not clear whether councillors will release details of their vote publicly following the meeting.

"I wish Mr. McCorkell well. He's done a lot of good things for the city, and I hope he does really well in the future," Hamer-Jackson said. "This council, I just hope they support my goals, and I believe it as their goals before the election to get a safer community and some accountability."

In a letter Hamer-Jackson planned to send to council earlier today, he advised them of his decision to suspend McCorkell. He "considers it necessary to change the direction" for the city and cited his rights to suspend McCorkell under the Community Charter.

"I will accept the will of council," the letter closed with.

Although he won't be available to attend a meeting this week, but he didn't say why.

Along voicing support for McCorkell in the city news release, which was issued after this story was first published, council also said Hamer-Jackson violated privacy law.

"On a related note, the mayor appears to have disclosed personal information of acting CAO McCorkell," the release read, going on to say the breach was reported to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of BC.

O'Reilly did not say exactly what details Hamer-Jackson released that led to the privacy breach.

McCorkell was not available for comment.

— This story was updated at 1:50 p.m. Wednesday, March 27, 2024, with information from a City of Kamloops news release and comments from councillor Mike O'Reilly.

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