Longtime Kamloops city councillor Arjun Singh will be on the campaign trail again this year, but this time he'll be aiming for the mayor's post, which he officially announced at city hall on March 4, 2022.

(LEVI LANDRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Now that sitting Kamloops mayor Ken Christian has announced his intention to not run in the next municipal election, future hopefuls are starting to throw their hats in the ring.

Longtime Kamloops councillor Arjun Singh announced his bid for the 2022 election in front of city hall this morning, March 4, with some supporters and members of local media at the steps.

"I think it's the time in my life right now to take the next step," Singh said on today, March 4. "Being on council is an amazing thing, and I think it's always a 'we job,' not a 'me job.'"

He plans to continue his diplomatic approach to politics by acting as a "conciliator" on council, he said. However, he had no policy ideas for Kamloops to endorse yet, telling the public to "stay tuned" for those announcements in the future. 

Known to endorse climate change policies, voters should likely expect Singh to propose climate action policies for Kamloops. He currently sits on the Climate Solutions Council of B.C. and has endorsed a climate action committee at the Thompson Nicola Regional District, where he also sits as an appointed director.

"I will have a slate of five to 10 ideas that I think are quite bold, that people can engage with. They may or may not become part of the platform in the fall because people will be a filter," Singh said.

The other name in the running is Ray Dhaliwal, who wants to reprise a spot at city hall, but this time in the mayor's seat.

"Since 2018, I knew I had to get back in," Dhaliwal said, who served a one-year stint as a councillor after a 2017 byelection.

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He said he is starting a municipal party for the 2022 civic election with a "full slate" of councillor hopefuls. He's calling it Action 22, inspired by former mayor Phil Gaglardi's Action Team '88, from Gaglardi's 1988 municipal election run.

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Rumoured to join in the race, but not yet confirmed, is Kamloops city councillor Dieter Dudy. Dudy lost an internal vote for the board chair of the Thompson Nicola Regional District to incumbent Ken Gillis, but he is yet to confirm his intentions for the municipal election.

Although announcements from mayoral hopefuls are beginning to trickle out, voters shouldn't expect the campaigning to start until July.

According to Elections B.C., the pre-campaign period for the 2022 municipal election begins on July 18. At that point, candidates can start advertising for the run up to the Oct. 15 voting day.

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In 2018, Christian ran against just one other candidate, beating William Turnbull with more than 85% of votes.

Christian was coming off the heels of a one-year term after he was elected in a 2017 byelection.

He recently announced that he intends to step away from local politics to spend more time with his family, after a decades-long career in various elected seats.

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