As the 2026 municipal election approaches, one argument is becoming increasingly common.
Some residents believe replacing most or all of Kamloops City Council would be risky. They argue that a new council would lack experience, struggle to understand municipal government, and spend years learning on the job.
The concern is understandable. Municipal government is complex. Council oversees hundreds of millions of dollars in spending, major infrastructure projects, labour agreements, land-use decisions, and long-term strategic planning.
Experience can certainly be an asset.
What often goes unexamined, however, is a more important question.
If experience is valuable, what has it actually produced?
Experience Is Not the Same as Performance
Many arguments against significant council turnover assume that experienced elected officials naturally govern more effectively than newcomers.
Yet experience alone does not guarantee sound decisions, financial discipline, transparency, accountability, or public trust.
Most residents would likely agree that an experienced contractor can still make mistakes. An experienced executive can still mismanage an organization. An experienced politician can still make poor decisions.
The same principle applies to municipal government.
When voters evaluate incumbents, the relevant question is not how long they have served. The relevant question is whether their service has produced outcomes residents support.
If citizens are satisfied with Council's direction, retaining incumbents may be a logical choice.
If citizens are dissatisfied, experience becomes a less compelling argument.
That distinction is particularly important during election years. Earlier this year, Kamloops Critic examined the question of whether voters should consider replacing every incumbent councillor. The discussion ultimately comes back to the same issue: performance matters more than tenure.
Who Actually Holds the Institutional Knowledge?
Supporters of incumbent councillors frequently cite institutional knowledge as a reason to avoid major turnover.
The phrase sounds persuasive, but it deserves closer examination.
Most operational knowledge within a municipality is held by administration, not elected officials.
Department directors understand their departments. Financial staff understand budgets. Engineers understand infrastructure projects. Legal counsel understand regulatory obligations. The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) oversees day-to-day operations.
According to the British Columbia Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Council's role is to govern, establish policies, approve budgets, and provide direction, while administration carries out municipal operations.
Council's role is fundamentally different from the role of staff.
Councillors provide oversight, establish priorities, approve budgets, and make policy decisions. They are not responsible for operating the municipality.
A newly elected councillor does not need to know everything on the first day. They need to be willing to learn, ask questions, review information critically, and make informed decisions.
That learning process occurs after every election, regardless of whether one councillor is replaced or eight.
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Municipal Governments Are Designed for Turnover
Democratic institutions are built on the expectation that elected representatives will change.
Provincial legislatures continue functioning after elections. Federal governments continue functioning after elections. Municipal governments do the same.
Organizations such as the Union of BC Municipalities and the Local Government Leadership Academy provide orientation, education, and training specifically for newly elected councillors and mayors. Those programs exist because turnover is expected.
While a council composed entirely of newcomers would face a steeper learning curve than one with several incumbents, there is little evidence that municipalities become ungovernable simply because voters choose significant change.
The system is specifically designed to accommodate electoral turnover.
The Risk of Too Much Continuity
The experience argument has another side that receives far less attention.
Long-serving councils can become attached to existing assumptions, priorities, and decisions.
Projects that were once controversial become accepted. Spending commitments become difficult to revisit. Policies become entrenched.
Over time, institutional knowledge can become institutional inertia.
Freshly elected councillors often ask questions that incumbents stopped asking years earlier. They bring different perspectives, different experiences, and different priorities.
Those questions can be uncomfortable, but they can also improve decision-making.
A healthy democracy requires both continuity and renewal.
In Kamloops, residents have repeatedly debated whether Council is providing sufficient oversight and accountability. Concerns have ranged from questions about public engagement to disputes over governance practices and procedural transparency.
For example, Kamloops Critic examined Council's approach to public correspondence in Worthy of Response?, while another article explored concerns regarding the accuracy of official meeting records in Deputy Mayor Says Accuracy of Council Minutes Is Not “Legitimate City Business”.
Regardless of where residents stand on those specific issues, they illustrate an important point: voters should evaluate the quality of governance, not simply the years of experience held by elected officials.
What Voters Should Really Consider
Rather than asking whether new councillors have previous council experience, voters may be better served by asking different questions.
Do the candidates understand municipal issues?
Are they prepared to read reports and attend meetings?
Do they demonstrate sound judgment?
Will they ask difficult questions?
Do they appear willing to challenge assumptions when necessary?
Do they represent the priorities of residents?
Those qualities may ultimately matter more than the number of years someone has spent in office.
When residents evaluate incumbents, they should also consider the record that existing councillors have established. Decisions affecting public participation, accountability, transparency, and governance deserve scrutiny. Kamloops Critic's examination of Kamloops Violated Spirit of AAP Guide is one example of how voters can assess the practical results of Council's decisions rather than focusing solely on experience.
Does Experience Outweigh Results?
The argument against replacing an entire council is not entirely without merit. Experience can help elected officials understand procedures, budgets, and municipal processes more quickly.
However, experience should not be treated as a qualification that outweighs performance.
If voters believe Council is serving the community effectively, they may choose continuity.
If voters believe Council has lost public confidence, failed to provide adequate oversight, or moved the city in the wrong direction, they may choose change.
That decision belongs to voters.
The purpose of an election is not to preserve experience. It is to provide accountability.
Ultimately, democracy assumes that citizens are capable of deciding whether continuity or change is more likely to serve the public interest.
The question is not whether a new council would be inexperienced.
The question is whether the current council has earned another term.
Election 2026
The next election is October 17, 2026. If you were considering voting for any of the current councillors, I urge you to reconsider.
It's critically important for you to get out there and vote. Let's vote for a council that actually listens to its electors!
Disclosure: Kamloops Critic has previously argued that voters should consider replacing all eight current councillors in the 2026 municipal election. This article reflects that perspective and examines one of the most common arguments made in favour of retaining incumbents: that experience alone is a sufficient reason to re-elect them. Readers are encouraged to review the record of both incumbent and prospective candidates and make their own informed decision.
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