Candidate Profile: Kathrine Blair-Wunderlich — Prepared to Serve

It’s another candidate profile, but the question is still the same. 

Would I trust this person to make decisions that affect my family and my community?

Each candidate brings a different background, different experiences, and a different way of approaching problems.

Rather than focusing on campaign promises, I'm more interested in evaluating the person behind the campaign. I think that tells me far more about the kind of councillor they might become.

Kathrine Blair-Wunderlich is different from other candidates I've profiled because I already know her.

I met Kathy in September 2024 after deciding to seek out the Kamloops AAP Vote Group. At the time, I had growing concerns about how the Alternative Approval Processes for the Performing Arts Centre and arena multiplex were being presented to the public. I wanted to hear directly from the people challenging the City's approach before reaching my own conclusions.

Over the next two years, I got to know Kathy through Kamloops Citizens United (KCU), where I became a member, volunteered to build their website, and had many opportunities to speak with her both privately and in group settings. During that same period, I was also building Kamloops Critic and independently researching many of the same municipal issues.

Because of that relationship, I wanted this profile to be grounded in evidence rather than friendship or personal experience. I went back and read Justice Groves' decision, reviewed City documents, Council records, media coverage, Kamloops Citizens United publications, and Kathy's own background before sitting down to write.

The question isn't whether I like Kathy. It's whether I believe she'd make a good city councillor. To answer that, I think we need to go back to before she ever decided to run for office.

Before the AAP

Like many people in Kamloops, I first became aware of Kathy because of the Alternative Approval Process for the Performing Arts Centre and arena multiplex. Until then, I hadn't heard of her.

As I got to know her, I realized the AAP wasn't where her interest in advocacy began. It was simply the issue that brought her into the public eye.

Before becoming involved in municipal politics, Kathy had already spent years advocating for others through the union and labour movement. She worked as a union organizer, business agent and instructor, represented employees through grievances and appeals, negotiated collective agreements, and trained shop stewards in conflict resolution and workplace rights.

One thing negotiation teaches is that you don't get very far if you don't listen. You have to gather information, understand opposing positions, and work toward a solution. 

Much of that starts with reading legislation, policies and contracts long before you ever sit down at the table. Whether or not someone has worked in a union environment, those are skills that translate well beyond the workplace.

Her background also includes HR management in the Community Living sector, where she worked with both employees and management to establish collective agreements and joint committees. She was also involved in provincial and federal politics, serving on a national party council and participating in policy development. 

By the time she became involved in municipal issues, she already had a strong understanding of governance, legislation and public policy. Whether we were discussing municipal finance, healthcare, governance or provincial legislation, Kathy usually already had some level of knowledge about the topic. 

Over the past two years, I've come to value her opinion on a wide range of municipal issues. Even when we've disagreed, I've respected the thought process that led her to her conclusions.

Knowledge alone doesn't make someone a good councillor. Good judgment, sound temperament and careful preparation matter just as much.

The Issue That Changed Everything

By the summer of 2024, the City's Alternative Approval Processes had become one of the most divisive issues in Kamloops.

The projects themselves weren't the only source of disagreement. Many residents supported a performing arts centre, an arena multiplex, or both. The bigger question was whether borrowing up to $275 million should proceed through an AAP or whether residents should have been asked to approve it through a referendum.

Kathy had already formed her opinion before I met her. I hadn't. I was still trying to understand the process, the borrowing, and whether the City had given residents enough information to make an informed decision. That was one of the reasons I wanted to meet the AAP Vote Group in the first place.

As I continued researching the issue over the following months, one thing never changed. I never doubted Kathy's motivation. For her, this wasn't about stopping a performing arts centre at any cost. It was about making sure residents understood the decision they were being asked to make and had a meaningful opportunity to participate in it.

More Than a Protest

It's one thing to disagree with a decision made by City Hall. It's another to invest your own time, energy, and money trying to challenge it.

As the AAP moved forward, Kathy became one of the public faces of the opposition campaign. She spoke at Council meetings, answered questions from residents, worked with other volunteers, and spent countless hours explaining the AAP process to people who had never heard of it before.

After the borrowing bylaws were adopted, she filed a petition in BC Supreme Court challenging the City's use of the AAP. Whether readers agree with that decision or not, it represented months of preparation, significant personal expense, and the possibility that she could be ordered to pay the City's legal costs if she was unsuccessful.

Justice Joel Groves ultimately dismissed the petition and upheld the City's use of the AAP. He concluded that the City had acted within the law and that its decisions met the applicable standard of reasonableness.

At the same time, he acknowledged that "... when the City wants to significantly incur debt ... for non‑essential infrastructure, that citizens expect the opportunity to publicly vote ... through a traditional referendum process."

"[60]      A second thing seems abundantly clear, ... that the use of the alternative approval process was something many citizens of Kamloops viewed with a degree of skepticism and concern. Again, that is of no moment to the decision I make here today, but should potentially stand as a warning to Council and others that there seems to be an expectation in the minds of many within the City of Kamloops that when the City wants to significantly incur debt or significantly place a tax burden on its citizen for non‑essential infrastructure, that citizens expect the opportunity to publicly vote and campaign for or against that through a traditional referendum process. ..."

Justice Groves also declined to award legal costs against Kathy, finding that she had raised a "reasonable concern" and acted in a "reasonable manner".

"[71]      In my view, a petitioner who brought before the court a reasonable concern and acted throughout the litigation in a reasonable manner, when acting against a large government organization such as the City of Kamloops, should not bear the costs of that large municipality."

Choosing Politics Over More Litigation

The legal challenge didn't end the way Kathy had hoped.

Justice Groves upheld the City's use of the AAP, and for a short time it appeared the dispute would continue through the Court of Appeal. Kathy filed a notice of appeal, while the City appealed the judge's decision not to award legal costs.

It would have been easy for both sides to keep fighting. Instead, they didn't.

After consulting with legal and political advisors, Kathy decided not to proceed with the appeal. In a March 2025 statement issued through Kamloops Citizens United, she explained that the remaining issues were ultimately political rather than legal. If residents wanted change, she concluded it would have to come through the democratic process, not through the courts.

The City also withdrew its appeal seeking legal costs, bringing the legal dispute to an end.

That decision caught my attention. It would have been easy to keep fighting on principle. Instead, Kathy accepted that the Court had answered the legal questions before it and redirected her efforts toward the next municipal election.

To me, that wasn't giving up. It was recognizing that some questions can't be resolved by a judge. They have to be decided by voters.

Advocacy Didn't End With the AAP

Although many people still associate Kathy with the court challenge, her advocacy didn't end there.

Kathy has continued to advocate on issues beyond municipal governance. In 2026 she launched a public petition calling for a secure involuntary mental health and addictions treatment facility in Kamloops. 

The proposal reflects another issue she believes has not received enough attention from government. Whether readers agree with it or not, it shows her interests extend well beyond the Performing Arts Centre or municipal borrowing.

What I noticed was the consistency. The issues changed, but the approach didn't.

She continued researching, asking questions, and encouraging residents to become involved in decisions affecting the community.

Working With Kathy

Over the past two years I've spent many hours talking with Kathy, sometimes one-on-one and sometimes in meetings with other members of KCU. Those conversations have ranged from municipal finance and governance to healthcare, public safety and provincial legislation.

One thing I've consistently noticed is that she doesn't dominate discussions. If anything, she asks questions first and listens before offering an opinion. 

After learning more about her professional background, that approach made sense. Good negotiators don't start by talking. They start by gathering information.

When Kathy disagrees, she explains why. Just as importantly, she's willing to listen to opposing views without becoming dismissive or personal. 

I've also watched her reconsider her position when someone presented information she hadn't previously considered. To me, that's a strength rather than a weakness.

That became particularly relevant when she joined the newly formed Pivot Kamloops slate. Whenever candidates run as part of a slate, there's a natural question: will they think independently, or will they vote as a group?

It's a fair question, and all I can do is judge Kathy based on what I've observed. Long before Pivot Kamloops existed, I watched her research issues for herself, ask difficult questions, and arrive at her own conclusions. 

Nothing I've seen since she joined Pivot has given me reason to change that impression.. If anything, I think she'll help reinforce the group's stated commitment that its members will remain independent thinkers while working toward a number of shared goals.

I don't expect to agree with Kathy on every issue that comes before Council, and I hope I don't. 

If every councillor thought exactly the same way, Council wouldn't have much value as a decision-making body. Different experiences and perspectives are healthy, provided they're backed by preparation and a willingness to listen.

Those are some of the reasons I believe Kathy would be an asset around the council table. She comes prepared, asks thoughtful questions, isn't afraid to challenge assumptions, and seems prepared to keep asking questions even when the majority appears ready to move on.

Looking back over the past two years, I've never seen Kathy define herself by a single issue. The AAP may have introduced her to the community, but it certainly hasn't been the only issue she's worked on.

So, Would I Trust Kathy to Help Govern Kamloops?

At the beginning of this article I said the question wasn't whether I like Kathy. It was whether I'd trust her to help govern Kamloops.

After reviewing her record, watching her over the past two years, and considering the qualities I believe matter most in a councillor, my answer is yes.

Not because we've become friends or worked together through Kamloops Citizens United. And certainly not because we've always agreed.

Those things would be poor reasons to recommend anyone for public office. The reason I've reached this conclusion is much simpler. 

I believe Kathy has demonstrated the qualities I want to see in a councillor. She prepares carefully, asks thoughtful questions, and has shown she's willing to challenge decisions she believes are wrong, even when doing so comes with personal cost.

Just as importantly, she's shown she's prepared to accept the outcome when she doesn't succeed and continue working within the democratic process. Those qualities matter more to me than whether I agree with every position she takes.

No councillor will ever vote the way I would on every issue. In fact, I wouldn't expect them to. The job of a councillor isn't to represent me personally. It's to represent the community while making thoughtful, informed decisions on its behalf.

If Kathy is elected, I expect she'll occasionally disappoint me. Every councillor eventually does. What matters is whether those decisions are thoughtful, well-informed, and made in what she honestly believes are the best interests of Kamloops. Based on everything I've observed over the past two years, I believe they will be.

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Editorial Disclosure: Because transparency is something I frequently ask of others, I think it's only fair that I offer the same to my readers.

I first met Kathy in September 2024 after seeking out the Kamloops AAP Vote Group while researching the City's Alternative Approval Processes. Later that year I became a member of Kamloops Citizens United, made a financial donation to the organization, and volunteered to develop and host its website.

Although Kamloops Critic and Kamloops Citizens United have often shared concerns about transparency, accountability and public participation, they are independent of one another. From the beginning, I made it clear that Kamloops Critic would maintain its own editorial direction, and that remains the case today.

I believe readers deserve to know about that relationship so they can evaluate this recommendation with the same information I expect from others.

The following recommendation reflects Kamloops Critic's editorial opinion.

Kamloops Critic Recommendation: Recommended

Based on everything I've observed since meeting Kathy, I believe she has demonstrated the judgment, preparation and temperament I look for in a councillor. For those reasons, I intend to vote for Kathrine Blair-Wunderlich for Kamloops City Council.

My recommendation isn't based on our relationship. It's based on watching Kathy over the past two years—seeing how she researches issues, how she treats people who disagree with her, and how seriously she approaches decisions that affect the community. Those are the qualities I want in a councillor.

Candidate Response: Kamloops Critic welcomes factual corrections from candidates and will promptly correct any verified errors. Candidates who wish to respond to this profile are invited to submit a response of up to 750 words. Responses may be edited only for length, formatting, or legal considerations.