As expected, Thompson-Nicola Regional District Chair, Ken Gillis, will not be seeking reelection this October.

In a statement Tuesday morning, the Area ‘L’ Director said he leaves with mixed feelings and a “tremendous” sense of gratitude after almost a decade on the board, the last four years of which were spent as Chair.

“Foremost among my reasons is the fact that, during this term, I married and moved to Merritt,” Gillis said.

“However, there also comes a time when a person just knows, or should know, that it’s time to go and I want to leave knowing that my three terms have been positive for the region and for those who elected me.”

A handful of TNRD Directors had been calling on Gillis to step down as chair amid reports that he was given a 12-page whistleblower complaint letter from a senior TNRD manager that reportedly outlined a host of allegations against former CAO Sukh Gill in in Jan. 2020, two weeks prior to Gill’s departure as CAO with a $520,000 severance package, and a legal agreement that his departure be called a retirement.

Back in February, Gillis defended his decision to withhold the letter, claiming it was addressed to him and not the board.

“The writer made it clear that that was the specific condition upon which the information was being provided,” Gillis said at the time. “The whistleblower did not say why.”

“However, one can understand this person fearing that, if the letter were provided to the Board, it would be leaked. It troubles me greatly to see that appears to be precisely what came to pass, after the letter came to the Board in December of 2021.”

In March of this year, Gillis told NL News he was “unlikely” to run for re-election in October, but said at the time he had not yet made up his mind.

“I’m open to being persuaded but it’s unlikely in my mind that anybody could be able to persuade me to run again,” he said on NL Newsday, at the time.

In his statement Tuesday, Gillis said he was “grateful” for the confidence shown towards him by “the majority of this Board” during his four years as chair as they “[navigated] treacherous waters during every one of those four years.”

“I’m certain no one ever accomplishes all he or she sets out to do at any level of government,” Gillis said. “Nevertheless, I look around our area and at our organization itself with a sense of satisfaction that my term in office has led to substantial improvements in a good number of aspects.”

“In particular, I am eagerly anticipating the day I can drive past the new Monte Creek Fire Hall and remember the significant role that I played in its realization.”

The 2022 municipal election in B.C. is scheduled for Oct. 15.