Why Kamloops Doesn’t Need Another "Idea Guy" in City Hall

Let’s be honest about what happens when people get elected to local government. They put on a nice outfit, sit in a comfortable leather chair at City Hall, and suddenly develop a severe case of "Grand Vision Syndrome."

They stop talking like your neighbour and start talking like they’re delivering a keynote address at a corporate retreat. They throw around terms like "intentional frameworks" and "synergistic continuous learning," while you’re sitting at home wondering why the city’s economic metrics are sliding and why it takes months of red tape just to get a permit for a backyard deck.

I didn’t build my career in technology, business, and executive coaching by sitting in a circle and singing Kumbaya. I built it on a very simple, no-nonsense philosophy: Lead with Intent.

But let’s strip away the campaign slogan. To anyone working a real job, leading with intent just means having a plan, executing it, and taking absolute ownership of the results. It’s the exact opposite of what we’re seeing in municipal politics today, which is mostly "Leadership by Accident"—waiting for a crisis to happen and then pointing fingers at everyone else.

If we want to fix the real economic and operational issues facing Kamloops, we need to run City Hall with deliberate intention, not political convenience. Here is the unvarnished data on why running on autopilot is failing us, and how we turn it around.

Kamloops from Kenna Cartwright Park - Darren Kirby Jan 2019

The Cost of Leadership by Accident

When local government operates without clear intent, real people pay the price. Let’s look at the actual ground truth of what’s happening in Kamloops right now:

• The Job Squeeze: According to the economic indicators released for February 2026, total local employment in Kamloops dropped to 61,880 jobs—a year-over-year decline of 710 jobs (Venture Kamloops Economic Indicators). We spent a good chunk of last year saddled with some of the highest unemployment rates in the province, topping out at a staggering 7.6% (Excel Personnel BC Analysis).

• Small Business Struggles: A comprehensive report from March 2026 highlighted that small businesses across British Columbia, including right here in Kamloops, ended the fiscal year in a severe crunch due to sky-high overhead costs and weakened consumer spending (Radio NL Business Report).

  
  

Now, when you bring these numbers up to the standard political crowd, they give you the typical defensive routine: "Well, the global economy is tough, inflation is high, and the provincial government controls the macro-indicators."

Bull. That is a total lack of extreme ownership.

A leader who acts with intent doesn’t look at bad data and make excuses. They look at bad data and ask: "What are we doing locally to burden these small businesses? Why are our municipal permitting timelines choking commercial growth? How can we design a local tax structure that actually invites job creators instead of scaring them down the Coquihalla?"

The Three Core Pillars of Intentional Governance

If you give me the privilege of representing you on City Council, I’m bringing a strict, no-fluff operational philosophy to the table. Here is how we apply intentional leadership to municipal governance:

1. Acknowledge the Friction (Real Self-Awareness)

The City of Kamloops explicitly outlines "Governance and Service Excellence" as a core pillar in its 2023–2026 Strategic Plan. That sounds great on a glossy brochure. But leading with intent means admitting where the service isn't excellent.

Right now, City Hall is notorious for bureaucratic gridlock. If we are being honest, we need to audit our own departments, listen to the front-line staff who actually know where the bottlenecks are, and aggressively streamline the system.

2. Focus on the Foundations (Practical Vision)

A real vision isn’t about chasing massive, multi-million-dollar legacy projects that look good on a campaign poster but pile up public debt. True vision is boring, practical, and highly effective. It means intentionally prioritizing infrastructure that handles our actual growth—ensuring our roads, water systems, and public safety are locked down for the next twenty years before we start funding the nice-to-haves.

3. Treat Taxpayers Like Partners (True Collaboration)

Right now, the relationship between City Hall and the community feels incredibly adversarial. Local business owners feel targeted by regulations, and residents feel ignored during budget season.

We need feedback loops that actually matter. If the city is going to spend your hard-earned money, the public consultation shouldn't be a checklist exercise conducted after the decisions have already been made behind closed doors.

Moving Past the Platitudes

We don't need leaders who require a 10-page briefing note to tell them that local families and businesses are hurting. We need common sense, business logic, and a radical commitment to taking responsibility for outcomes.

When an organization applies these principles, turnover drops and productivity spikes. When a city applies them, taxes stabilize, streets get safer, and local businesses actually thrive.

Let's stop letting Kamloops run on autopilot. It's time to Lead with Intent and build a city government that works for the people who actually pay the bills.

What’s the biggest piece of bureaucratic red tape you’ve had to deal with in Kamloops lately? Drop a comment below—let’s talk about how we intentionally clear the path.