Rob Kerslake, a long-term councillor (and more recently deputy mayor) for the District of Barriere (DOB), tells the Barriere ronaldomanosa that he has “received a lot of questions about a by-election,” laughingly adding “especially on election night!”
“In our most recent council meeting last week I asked our council how they felt about me running for mayor and received their full endorsement and also that of Ward Stamer [former mayor of Barriere and now MLA-elect for Kamloops-North Thompson]," says Kerslake.
"Of course, my family’s input was the priority in this decision. I consulted with them before making my decision first and they are all supportive. The additional time being a mayor would impact our family time and I wanted them to be prepared. I also placed a call to Kukpi7 George Lampreau of Simpcw First Nation and received positive feedback from him about running for mayor as well. I will be putting my name forward once the date for the by-election has been decided."
Kerslake stepped into the role of acting mayor for the DOB when former mayor Ward Stamer announced that he was running as a B.C. Conservative candidate in the Kamloops-North Thompson riding in the recent provincial election. Stamer was elected with 60 per cent of the overall vote and is now MLA-elect.
Kerslake took over the duties of mayor starting on Sept. 5. Stamer’s formal resignation as mayor took place on Oct. 21 during a regular council meeting, following the election on Oct. 19. Kerslake will remain as deputy mayor for Barriere until a decision has been made about the timing of the by-election.
When questioned about a possible announcement of when that will occur, Kerslake says “I anticipate during our next council meeting our corporate officer, Tasha Buchanan, will have a plan in mind to coordinate the by-election. It comes down to staff capacity and Tasha organizes much of the administrative work. It won’t be past June, but we are hoping for it to be announced a lot sooner than that. She has the experience with this type of planning, having done this a few times now.”
Kerslake, 53, is well-known as a general contractor and has experience working in logging in the area. He is married with two adult children in their 20s and a teen at home. His wife, Jennifer Kerslake, is a counsellor with Simpcw First Nation in the Village of Chu Chua and a former teacher, and Kerslake has lived the majority of his life in the North Thompson Valley.
“My grandparents on my mother’s side moved to the North Thompson in 1947. I care deeply about Barriere and its future. My dad is from the Jim family in Little Fort.”
The deputy mayor has also taken over former mayor Stamer’s seat on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board, and has volunteered within the community for many years to assist with the North Thompson Fall Fair in an “informal” capacity, helping wherever needed over the years.
Kerslake wants to continue the work started by Stamer. “I think with Ward sitting in the legislature, it’s going to turn up the volume for our representation in the valley and help us achieve more things like developing more seniors' housing and better highway safety improvements. I believe in strength in numbers. Having a collective voice with our valley partners in Simpcw First Nation, Clearwater, and along the Highway 5 corridor [means] we can work together to make things better.
"We have a great council and everybody works well together. We don’t agree on everything, but we shake hands when we walk out of the council room door and that is awesome.”
