Kathrine Wunderlich speaks to reporters outside Kamloops city hall on Oct. 22, 2024, after serving court documents to city officials.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

A newly formed Kamloops city hall watchdog group is keeping tabs on the local government and politicians.

Under the name Kamloops Citizens United, the members liken their efforts to those of an opposition party in the legislature, holding elected officials accountable.

Their first action was a legal challenge of the $270 million in loans for new city facilities approved through an alternative approval process or AAP. They want a judge to force a referendum. Only group member Kathrine Wunderlich's name was listed as the plaintiff and she recently served city officials at a council meeting, but there's an entire group behind the effort.

"We started talking about the importance of holding city hall accountable through the AAP, but not only that, we started getting together on an ad hoc sort of basis until we put down some of the things we thought the people of Kamloops need, what's lacking in some of our media — and it's not the media's fault, we don't have any print news and lots of older folks don't have social media — so we're seeing there's a gap that needs to be filled. We just went from there," Wunderlich said.

Evolved out of a group called Kamloops AAP Vote, it was the alternative approval, or counter petition, that brought them together. It's made up of "respected local business owners and residents with relevant education, business and professional credentials," according to its mission statement.

She volunteered her name to head the court challenge because the group hadn't been formally registered as a society, something Wunderlich expects will happen. Despite that, they are aiming to fund the court challenge and other initiatives through donations.

It's not clear how many supporters they currently have or how many donations they've accrued.

READ MORE: Defiant and controversial: Kamloops mayor digs in with half of term left

The group's goals include an effort to advocate for taxpayers and give feedback on city projects or fiscal management, according to the mission statement. The group also aims to raise public awareness of issues facing Kamloops and to promote accountability, communication and transparency at city hall.

"We're going to take it upon ourselves to go to council meetings, investigate it, research it and send back our findings to the general public," Wunderlich said.

She noted that her description is similar to the role journalism traditionally played and again pointed to the changing media landscape locally with fewer news outlets and fewer reporters as at least part of what brought Kamloops Citizens United together.

"We just want to fill those gaps, and not being journalists, none of us have that kind of background," she said. "We just want to make sure that if city hall is going to do what they're going to do, the people who are paying for it are knowledgeable about what actually is going on."

They plan to host information sessions and town hall-like events, which they expect will be funded by donations. Wunderlich said they plan to invite city officials to at least some of them.

Donations will also be used for advertising, lobbying efforts and surveys.

Wunderlich doesn't describe herself as someone with a leadership role within the groups, but its hierarchy isn't entirely clear. According to a statement, the group is "governed by lead members" and operates as a team and those with more experience or expertise are chosen to lead.

The group doesn't have a website yet and its only messaging so far has only been on Facebook where either Wunderlich or another member, Coley Ecker, communicate for the organization.

Coley Ecker (let) and Thea Dunn (right) delivered signed petitions against $275 million in civic borrowing in September. Ecker is now a member of Kamloops Citizens United.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Marshall Krueger worked on the counter petition campaign this summer and is continuing on with the group. Arthur Loring, owner of Fun Factor and vice president of the North Shore business association, is also among their membership, she said. Loring is also a close friend of Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson and was assisting at the mayor's recent court hearing, but Wunderlich said his connection to Hamer-Jackson is separate from the group.

"I believe Arthur (Loring) is professional. Yes he supports the mayor, but he's a business person, he understands that organizations, especially those like ours, have to have objectivity," she said. "I don't perceive a problem with that, and if there is there are three or four other people that are going to call him on it."

She added that there are multiple people involved who support the mayor and voted for him, including herself, but that Hamer-Jackson himself is not involved and the group's mission is not about him.

"We want to make sure there is a wall up between us because this is not about the mayor, this is about things that go on in council," Wunderlich said.

READ MORE: Court action launched to oust Kamloops councillor over new arena

Kamloops mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson (right) with friend and advisor Arthur Loring (left) seen after leaving the Kamloops courthouse on Oct. 16, 2024.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Wunderlich herself met the group's members through the counter petition campaign efforts. She has a background working with unions throughout much of her adult life and has worked on various political campaigns.

Another member is lawyer Jody Wells. She said Wells is not helping with the legal challenge against the city and is only a member of the group. But according to the Alberta Law Society, Wells practices at James Kitchen's firm in Airdrie, the lawyer representing Wunderlich in the lawsuit against the counter petition process.

Kitchen is described on his website as a religious rights and freedom of speech lawyer. His past cases included representing an Ontario teenager who was suspended from his Catholic school for organizing a protest against a policy that allowed students to use washrooms based on their chosen gender identity. Kitchen has also represented churches that flaunted COVID-19 restrictions and an Alberta school trustee who was disqualified for comparing pride events to Nazi brainwashing.

According to the Citizens United mission statement, it doesn't have particular political affiliations.

Wunderlich said the group's make up is diverse, noting that she tends to align as a centre-left voter while some other members are more right-leaning. As for legal representation, Wunderlich said Kitchen was recommended and while she may not agree with him politically, he's capable of taking on the case and his resume has "no bearing" on the Kamloops matter.

She didn't say who else is a member of the group, or how many other people are involved, but she did say they're going through a "vetting process."

"Other people from other groups that have asked to join our leadership, we're making sure that people on our leadership team are credible, viable and capable," she said.

Although Kamloops Citizens United's first initiative was to take the city to court, they also plan to foster relationships with the local government and Wunderlich said it was a move she took no pleasure in.

"When something like this happens, as a citizen there's nothing else you can do. I'd love not to be taking the city to court, it was a last resort," she said.

She accused city council not responding to concerns from the public. The one exception, she said, was a lengthy response that offered vague responses or pointed her to the city's website instead.

Another recent court action seeks to disqualify one city councillor from office, connecting it to the $270 million Build Kamloops loans, but Wunderlich said that effort is not related to Kamloops Citizens United.

One of the ten petitioners, Thea Dunn, was involved with the group early on, but has since parted ways, Wunderlich said.

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