Street Level

Somebody needs to teach Jim Harker how to apologize.

It’s a pretty simple process: Say you’re sorry, stop talking and hope the issue goes away, especially if you’re a politician — or want to be considered one.

Instead, as he took responsibility for his truly inane comments about the YMCA-YWCA’s Dream Home Lottery, the first-term city councillor went on to say he “resented” people thinking his remarks were directed at the Kamloops Indian Band (KIB).

For those who don’t pay much attention to what our city council is doing these days — which is not advised because this council seems to be wandering these days — Harker mused out loud that the city should scold the Kamloops YMCA-YWCA for raffling off a pretty darn nifty house up in Sun Rivers, because the folks who live up there don’t pay city taxes.

Their homes happen to be on KIB land.

It’s not a far leap for many people to think that Harker’s comments were the result of that simple reality.

KIB land, big house, no property tax revenue because it is KIB land— it must be bad for the city.

Here at KTW, it’s been a long time since we’ve had so many letters to the editor on one issue come flooding in.

When reporter Markus Ermisch called him on it, Harker didn’t back down.

He stood his ground.

Now, a week later, he’s admitting he didn’t have his facts right and he’s sorry.

He just didn’t know the Y has no say on where the house is built.

He didn’t know it’s up to the local branch of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association.

He apparently also didn’t realize the house benefits Thompson Rivers University, since it is built with TRU trades students, kind of like the ultimate practicum.

He apparently has never paid much attention to this raffle, which has been going on for years now, raising money for a facility that everyone, including people who live at Sun Rivers, can use.

It’s difficult to accept Harker’s excuse that he didn’t have the facts.

It’s not too smart for a politician to speak out when he really doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

You’re not allowed the luxury of engaging mouth before brain gets into gear when you serve at the public’s whim — although we seem to keep on electing some of them.

This is a basic lesson Harker should have learned by now.

He can’t use the rookie excuse anymore; he’s too far into his first term and should have developed some political smarts by now.

Harker’s not alone in this mess, however.

He’s simply the lightning rod.

Somehow, the rest of council avoided the backlash he has endured for the past week.

They should be held just as accountable for it because they all let this discussion go on.

They sat there and not one of them challenged Harker.

Not one of them had the presence of mind to simply say, “Jim, this is none of our business.”

And they all agreed when Harker suggested somebody from the city needed to have a serious talk with the Y’s administration because, after all, it gets an operating grant each year of $196,000 from the city.

Every single one of them at that council meeting agreed.

Only John DeCicco avoided being part of this embarrassment, but that came about because he wasn’t at council when Harker started his complaining.

I’m not sure we want a council that is making decisions when it doesn’t have the facts in front of it.

Hopefully, this is an aberration.

Maybe they all got caught up in the rhetoric.

Maybe they’re all just annoyed they haven’t won the house in any of the previous draws.

Who knows?

Either way, it was certainly not one of the finer moments for Harker or the rest of council.

There’s no excuse for it.

And, apparently, there’s no sincere apology for it, either.

dale@kamloopsthisweek.com

Posted by Dale at 12:00 p.m. Comments