Executive Assistants for All

Who doesn’t want an executive assistant?

Especially when it appears that a growing number of senior City of Kamloops directors have one.

According to the City’s September 2026 organizational chart, Kristen Rodrigue, the City’s Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships, now has an executive assistant as well.

Crystal Gelineau is listed as Rodrigue’s EA.

Gelineau isn't new to the role. She was previously the Executive Assistant to the Mayor and Council.

In December 2022, Kamloops This Week reported that Gelineau was moving into a new position as External Relations Co-ordinator. The move came with an increase in her pay grade.

Former CAO David Trawin told KTW that Gelineau had approached him before the 2022 election about possible new opportunities. The City received 30 applications for her replacement, with a starting salary of $74,743.50.

Rodrigue was previously the City's Communications Manager. She was promoted to Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships sometime before January 16, 2026. I wrote about that change in Stealth Promotion Amid Tax Pain: Kamloops Grows Management While Residents Tighten Belts.

The Sarai Incident

Gelineau was also one of the City employees present at City Hall during the heated exchange between Councillor Bill Sarai and Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson on January 20, 2023.

Sarai was later investigated over his recording of the incident. I wrote about that investigation in Council Wastes $38,641 On Sarai Investigation.

According to the Mayor's account, he apologized to staff in a nearby area for Sarai's behaviour. He has said that Gelineau was in the lunchroom at the time and overheard Sarai yelling.

Later that day, according to the Mayor's recollection, Gelineau moved to another location within the City.

I'm including this because Gelineau's previous role as EA to Mayor and Council, and her experience during this period, provide some useful context for her employment history at City Hall.

No EA for the Mayor?

The Mayor's access to the Executive Assistant to Mayor and Council was restricted as part of the sanctions imposed on him.

Christine Cossentine, who replaced Gelineau in that position, is currently listed on the organizational chart as Executive Assistant to Mayor and Council.

So while the Mayor appears to have an EA, his access to that position has not always been straightforward.

Why Return to an EA Role?

I don't know why Gelineau has returned to an executive assistant position, and I'm not suggesting that the move was improper.

But it did make me curious about one thing: compensation.

According to the City's 2025 Statement of Financial Information, Gelineau was listed as the Indigenous and External Relations Administrator. She received $91,125 in remuneration in 2025, compared with $86,720 in 2024.

I then looked at the City's 2025 and 2024 SOFI reports to see how that compared with other executive assistants.

Executive Assistant	Department	Director	2025	2024
Emily Nelson	DES*	Marvin Kwiatkowski	$99,864	$92,280
Carly-Rae Roberts	CAO	Byron McCorkell	$94,968	$89,133
Shawna Sonnenberg	Corporate Services	David Hallinan	$94,968	$90,662
Kim Aspinall	Community and Culture	Carmin Mazzotta	$94,968	$90,043
Christine Cossentine	Mayor and Council	—	$83,235	$77,969
Monica Chan	Protective Services	Ken Uzeloc	$80,557	$79,920

Based on these numbers, returning to an EA position doesn't necessarily mean a significant reduction in compensation.

In fact, the salaries of several EAs are quite close to, or higher than, the $91,125 Gelineau received in her previous position.

There may also be reasons for the differences that aren't visible in the SOFI reports. Experience, job classification, responsibilities, years of service and other factors can affect compensation.

And money isn't always the deciding factor in a job change. Sometimes people choose a position because they prefer the work, the people they work with, or simply because the job suits them better.

That's why I'm not particularly interested in speculating about why Gelineau made the move.

What I do find interesting is the larger picture.

The City's organizational chart shows executive assistants supporting a number of senior managers across City Hall. At the same time, senior management positions have been added or expanded, including Rodrigue's move from Communications Manager to Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships.

None of that, by itself, tells us whether City Hall has too many managers or too many executive assistants.

But it does raise a reasonable question for taxpayers: how many layers of administrative support does the City need, and what are we getting in return for them?

That's a question I'd like to see answered with numbers rather than assumptions.

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Editorial Disclosure

I have previously written about Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson, City Council and several of the people mentioned in this article. I have also expressed my views about the City's management structure and decisions made by Council.

Those views are part of the reason I pay attention to these issues, but they are not a substitute for evidence. Where I have made a claim in this article, I have tried to identify the source and distinguish documented facts from my own observations and questions.

I have no personal relationship with Crystal Gelineau, Kristen Rodrigue or the other City employees discussed here. I have not been given any information by them about the employment changes described in this article, and I don't know the reasons for Gelineau's move back to an executive assistant position.

The purpose of this article is to examine the City's organizational structure and compensation information, not to suggest that any individual employee has done anything wrong.