INSIDE TODAY’S EDITION: MEET THE WOMEN OF THE THOMPSON VALLEY
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2022 | Volume 35 No. 43
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#YKASTRONG Mayor Ken Christian will wrap up a three-decade stint in civic politics on Nov. 1. He has been a school trustee, a city councillor and a mayor — and only once did not top the polls. MICHAEL POTESTIO/KTW
The gavel falls on a storied political career JESSICA WALLACE STAFF REPORTER
jessica@kamloopsthisweek.com
K
en Christian — who repeatedly topped the polls at all levels of civic politics over three decades and who referred to himself as a “water and sewer mayor” — will wrap up his time in public office in the same environment it started. On Nov. 1, an event will mark the official opening of the Valleyview secondary expansion and Christian will be there in his final act as mayor. It will be a full-circle moment for Christian, who started his political career as a school board trustee nearly 30 years ago and
whose fingerprints were all over the Valleyview file. Before Christian became mayor in 2017 and before he was first elected as a city councillor in 2011, he spent 18 years on the KamloopsThompson school board, including eight years as chair. He was 39 when first elected and recalled the “euphoria” of victory. Now 68, Christian is retiring to spend more time with family and explore new opportunities. Christian also served on the Kamloops Airport Authority, Thompson Regional Hospital District and Thompson-Nicola Regional District. He topped the polls in all but one election — the first, in 1993, when he came within 17 votes of first-place trustee finisher John O’Fee, who recently topped the
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polls again when re-elected as a school board trustee on Oct. 15. Christian said he was able to maintain his popularity by working hard and being available and honest with the public. He is also wellread, well-spoken and informed. Mayor-elect Reid Hamer-Jackson has joked about Christian’s ability to use big words. Indeed, Christian’s vocabulary is extensive and his quotes were the rare ones at council that required, at times, a dictionary reference. Christian said it is necessary to put time into researching issues because a mayor cannot sit down with someone like premier-designate David Eby — who he described as “very, very smart” — without facts. For example, Christian looked into local data on prolific offenders in
order to understand drivers and distribution of the problem. “I always made sure I was well briefed and I would do some of that on my own and some of that with the support of staff, so that was really important,” Christian said. “You can’t just go into some of these meetings kind of haphazardly, saying, ‘Jeez, you know, I’d really like you guys to take over Noble Creek Water System’ or something. You have to really understand the history of all these things, so that was a hallmark of the way I operated, whether I was a school trustee or chair of the school board or regional district person or councillor or mayor here.” See DISASTER, A12