Kamloops city councillor Mike O’Reilly’s name will be on the municipal election ballot this October but there is a caveat.
“Whether it will be for mayor or councillor I am undecided, but my name will be on the ballot for one of those two positions,” he said on NL Newsday Wednesday afternoon.
The 38-year-old first-term councillor says his decision will depend on whether he can ensure that his business is able to operate without him.
O’Reilly is the president and CEO of Comet Industries – a company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange – which is seeking to develop an industrial park in the Pineview area off the Trans Canada Highway.
“If I decide to run for mayor and I’m elected, I will be working as a full-time mayor,” he said, noting that final decision may not come for another two to three months. “I’ll be there 40 to 50 hours a week and I have to make sure that my business is still fully able to operate without me being as active as I am now.”
“As it stands right now I’m a fully-committed councillor at 20 to 25 hours a week but that’s what I have my business built-up to do. I hope it all aligns but in the same breath if it doesn’t, I will be back running for council again and I look forward to serving the city for another four years.”
Asked about his priorities in a potential mayoral run, O’Reilly says his three biggest planks include a vision to build legacy projects for Kamloops similar in scale to the creation of McArthur Island Park and the Tournament Capital Centre, as well as community safety, and affordability.
In addition to O’Reilly, current councillor Arjun Singh, former councillor Ray Dhaliwal, and Tru Market Truck and Auto Sales owner Reid Hamer-Jackson all have announced plans to seek the city’s top elected job.
The civic election is on Oct. 15.