Council Contact Information and Bios
View bioKen was born in Kelowna and pursued his formal education at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Cariboo College and eventually the University of Victoria. His 37 year career in Public Health in the Kamloops region saw him start as Public Health Inspector and Licensing Officer. He became the Chief Environmental Health Officer in Kamloops and then Manager of Environmental Health with the Thompson Health Region and ultimately the Regional Director of Health Protection with the Interior Health Authority until 2012. He operated a small environmental health consultancy; Ken Christian Consulting Ltd. until he became Mayor in 2017.
Throughout his career he has been a leader in Water Quality, Food Safety, Air Quality, Community Sanitation, Disease Control and Emergency Preparedness. In recent years his interests have turned to public policy development, administrative law, sustainability, social determinants of health and the relationship between health and the built environment.
A Kamloops resident for over 40 years, Ken has served his community as an elected representative continuously since 1993, 18 years as a School Trustee on the Kamloops Thompson Board of Education, including 8 years as Chairman. Ken was first elected to Kamloops City Council in 2011 and was re-elected in 2014. He was elected Mayor in the September 2017 by-election, and then re-elected as Mayor in 2018.
Throughout the years Ken has coached and refereed basketball and volunteered in numerous positions. He is a proud supporter of the Western Canada Theatre Company, the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation and the Thompson Rivers University Foundation. In his spare time Ken enjoys golf, sports and the Shuswap. Ken and his wife Brenda and have three adult children Nic, Jon, and Taryn.
View bioDale Bass was born in Ontario but luckily is married to a wonderful man who brought her and four of their five children west to Kamloops in 1999. She retired from Kamloops This Week in 2018 after an 18-year career there. Prior to that she did 25 years at a large Ontario daily newspaper. Since moving here, she has held positions on the boards of the Kamloops Therapeutic Riding Association, Kamloops Family Resources Society, Kamloops Society for Community Living (now called Inclusion Kamloops), People In Motion, Volunteer Kamloops and Kamloops Child Development Centre. She was also chair of the Canadian Association of Journalists for several years.
View bioDieter was born in Germany and raised in Kitimat, BC where he completed his primary and secondary education. He met his wife Deb Kellogg, who grew up in Kamloops, in Victoria and has been married for 34+ years. They have two adult children, Ryan and Kaitlin who both reside in Kamloops with their respective partners. Dieter has had a diverse work history, having been employed in the industrial sector by Alcan, Crown Zellerbach and a number of smaller operations. Dieter spent a number of years in retail and wholesale management primarily with Woolco. He spent 13 years in the financial services industry, both in sales and management, and lastly with the local Greyhound agency as Operations Manager.
Dieter’s passion for sustainability led him to purchase and develop 10 acres in Westsyde in 1998 where he and Deb have successfully established an organic vegetable farm and business. He has since become involved with agriculture and food security. Dieter has sat on the local farmers’ market, the Sun Peaks Farmers’ Market board (which he and his wife helped to develop), was President of the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets, past Director with The Certified Organic Association of BC, as well as the local certifying body.
Dieter was a former Director with the Kamloops Voter’s Society and was one of the original members of the steering committee that founded Gardengate, a therapeutic centre for individuals with mental health issues. Dieter was a committee member on the Agricultural Advisory Committee which helped to develop the Kamloops Agricultural Plan. Dieter is currently a Director with Farm2Chef and continues to be passionate about food security, economic diversity and fiscal responsibility.
View bioMike has called Kamloops home for over 30 years and has lived in many neighbourhoods throughout the city. He is the proud owner of Caffe Motivo in downtown Kamloops and has been involved in small business in Kamloops for the last 10 years.
Mike has been an active volunteer in Kamloops for the last 20 years with multiple organizations including Rotary, Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association, the MS Society and the Kamloops Exploration Group.
Mike has also been a part of economic development in Kamloops for the last 10 years and believes a strong and diverse economy will help produce a strong and healthy city.
Mike has been married for the last 5 years and became a father in the winter of 2018.
View bioBill Sarai was born in Abbotsford B.C. in 1961. He was raised and attended school in East Vancouver. After graduation, he was hired by Canada Post as a letter carrier and is currently in his 31st year with the corporation. Bill moved to Kamloops in 1995 with his wife and young family. His wife Toni was born and raised in Kamloops and that was one of the main reasons to move to Kamloops and raise his family. Bill has now lived in Kamloops for 25 years and has always felt as though he won the lottery getting to live in such a beautiful city.
Bill has volunteered on numerous community groups, including the City of Kamloops Social Planning Council, Kamloops Youth Soccer Association, Norbrock Soccer, Canada Summer and Winter Games, as well as coaching his two daughters and son in Kamloops Youth Soccer.
In his spare time, Bill loves to fly fish at our local Kamloops lakes and spend time with his family. Bill and his wife Toni live in Brock and have three adult children, Jessica, Ashley and Nick.
This is Bill's first foray into civic politics and he could not be more excited to give back to his community.
View bioOriginally from Vancouver Island, Kathy has lived in Victoria, Vancouver, Ottawa, Kelowna, the UK, BC's Sunshine Coast, Mexico, and the Yukon. She feels very lucky to have landed in Kamloops in 2011 and have been elected to Council in 2017 (re-elected 2018). Kathy is committed to making our wonderful city even better and helping to improve the region through her role on the TNRD Board of Directors (2018-).
Kathy has been an active volunteer with many local organizations, including Literacy in Kamloops, the SPCA, Kamloops Power Choir and the Interior CarShare Cooperative. Her interests include economic development, urban planning, active transportation, sustainability, personal and community health, affordability, accessibility, and respect for diversity. Kathy's main areas of focus are building upon the Tournament Capital brand to grow tourism and the economy; fostering an environment that attracts and retains small business; and ensuring sustainability (economic, environmental and social).
Kathy is currently a consultant to not-for-profits and was executive director of the Kamloops Arts Council from 2012 to 2019. Kathy holds a BA in creative writing and English from the University of Victoria and a Master of Publishing from Simon Fraser University. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Kamloops and has been a mentor with the Commonwealth Women's Mentorship Program.
View bioArjun is currently serving his third term on Kamloops City Council. He welcomes your questions, ideas, or feedback on any community issue or initiative.
Arjun was born and raised in Kamloops. His parents, Dr Gur and Mrs Manju Singh, immigrated to Canada from India in the 1960s. He holds an MA in Professional Communication from Royal Roads University and a Certificate in Dialogue, Deliberation, and Public Engagement from Fielding Graduate University.
Arjun has served on a wide variety of Council committees during his three terms. He currently sits on the Official Community Plan Advisory Committee, the Sustainability Advisory Committee, the Community and Council Services Committee, and the Tournament Capital Committee. He also the council representative on the board of Venture Kamloops and a Director of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.
Arjun is currently First Vice President of the Union of BC Municipalities and President of BC’s Local Government Leadership Academy. He is a long time member of the Rotary Club of Kamloops and served as club President in 2015/16.
Outside of his "Council time", Arjun helps manage an apartment complex, and enjoys travelling, good milk chocolate, technology, running, and spending time with his wife Marsha and their families.
View bioDenis has lived in Kamloops since 1980 and has raised his family here. He is an active local business person involved in the MovieMart downtown and Crossroads Inn.
Denis has served as a director on the boards of the original North Shore Business Association and more recently, the Kamloops Film Society, Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association, and Kamloops Society for Community Living. He was an co-organizer of the Kamloops Speaker Series and Community Representative for Thompson Rivers University Faculty Association Human Rights Committee. Denis was awarded a Kamloops Community YMCA-YWCA Peacemaker Award in 2006.
His main areas of concern are economic stability, quality of life, improving community input and environmental stewardship. Denis believes benefit comes from working together with people of all points of view.
