Local Leadership
Strong communities are built by leaders who listen, show up, and work alongside residents, partners, and other levels of government to solve local challenges. A proven leader, Katie always shows up for Kamloops.
During her first term on Council, Katie earned a reputation for being accessible, prepared, and engaged. She believes effective leadership starts with listening; that means taking the time to hear directly from residents, community organizations, businesses, and neighbourhoods before making decisions. Whether advocating for safer communities, supporting local organizations, or working collaboratively with regional, provincial, and federal partners, Katie has consistently focused on practical solutions that improve life in Kamloops.
Katie has championed collaboration over division, recognizing that the city's biggest challenges, including housing, homelessness, public safety, infrastructure, and economic growth, cannot be solved by any one level of government. She has worked to build strong relationships and doesn’t avoid the hard conversations that lead to success.
As Chair of the Safe and Security Select Committee, Katie has brought community partners together to strengthen coordinated responses to complex issues, supporting evidence-informed strategies that improve both public safety and community well-being. She has been vocal about the need for both a Sobering and Assessment Centre and a Community Court in Kamloops, recognizing that effective public safety means addressing the root causes of addiction, mental health challenges, and repeat offending while improving outcomes for individuals and the broader community. Katie’s tenure as Chair of Safety and Security concluded with concrete downward trends in crime in the final quarter of the year. Katie is especially proud of the new city corridor reporting she established so that areas of concerns in the community could be identified, as well as the notable progress on graffiti as a result of her focused initiative. This work is far from finished and is a top priority for Katie to continue leading as she prepares for a second term.
Katie was also a leading voice in the province when addressing the harmful impacts of the decriminalization of illicit substances without the supports required for success. The bylaw she initiated locally was instrumental in creating the momentum for the end of decriminalization in BC. Connecting overdoses, street disorder, police response, and more to the unregulated experiment while calling for public reporting tools helped to bring an end to the damaging experiment.
Katie was also a key leader in establishing Kamloops' first-ever Christmas Market in 2025, helping transform a community vision into a successful, financially sustainable, and well-attended event that supports local businesses, brings residents together, and celebrates community spirit. The market, poised for greater expansion and success to come, has quickly become a source of civic pride and demonstrates what is possible when the City partners with local organizations, businesses, and volunteers.
Looking ahead, Katie will continue to be a visible, approachable, and responsive leader who is present in the community, not just at City Hall. She will continue advocating for innovative solutions to complex challenges, building strong partnerships across all levels of government, championing community events that strengthen local pride and economic vitality, and ensuring Kamloops has a strong voice when provincial and federal decisions affect our community. Her commitment remains simple: to lead with integrity, listen with intention, and always put the people of Kamloops first.
Accountable Advocacy
A believer in our city who has consistently put the needs of the community first, Katie will build on her strong record of advocacy on behalf of Kamloops residents, seeking creative and collaborative solutions for our most pressing and complex issues.
Katie believes elected officials have a responsibility to be strong advocates, not only within City Hall, but wherever decisions are being made that affect Kamloops. She has built a reputation for asking thoughtful questions, challenging the status quo, and ensuring residents have a voice at the table.
Throughout her first term, Katie has championed policies that strengthen Kamloops' long-term prosperity. She initiated and led efforts to modernize regulations for home-based businesses, making it easier for local entrepreneurs to grow while supporting economic development and family life. She also successfully advocated for improvements to development approval processes, helping reduce application timelines, increase efficiency, and support responsible growth and played a strong role in Kamloops receiving the largest investment in housing from the provincial government in the city’s history.
Katie has also been a strong advocate for greater transparency and fairness in government. She challenged City procurement practices to improve access to municipal contracts for local businesses, commissioned a report examining the financial impacts of provincial downloading on municipalities which has now been adopted and replicated by other municipalities and external bodies, and successfully advocated to the Province for consistent conduct standards for local governments across British Columbia, helping strengthen public confidence in municipal governance.
Her advocacy has extended beyond City Hall. As a Co-Founder of Maternity Matters Kamloops, Katie has been a vocal supporter of improved maternity care in Kamloops, recognizing that access to quality healthcare is essential to attracting and retaining families. She has also championed major community investments, including the Kamloops Cancer Centre, and long-term planning for airport expansion, ensuring Kamloops continues to grow as a regional hub for healthcare, transportation, wildfire response, and economic opportunity.
Katie will continue to be an independent and effective advocate for Kamloops, ensuring our city has a strong voice wherever decisions are being made. She will work collaboratively with residents, community organizations, businesses, Indigenous partners, and provincial and federal governments to secure investment, remove barriers to progress, and deliver practical solutions to the challenges our community faces.
Her priorities for a second term are clear: increasing housing options across the continuum, advancing meaningful solutions to homelessness, strengthening public safety through balanced and evidence-informed approaches, investing in arts, culture, and recreation that enrich community life and support family retention, improving the everyday livability of our neighbourhoods, and supporting sustainable economic growth that creates opportunity for residents and local businesses alike.
Katie believes Kamloops deserves a council that looks beyond the next election and plans for the next 7 generations. She will continue advocating for the infrastructure, services, and partnerships needed to support a growing city while protecting the qualities that make Kamloops an exceptional place to live, work, raise a family, and retire. Through accountable advocacy, collaboration, and a relentless focus on results, Katie will continue fiercely advocating for Kamloops.
Good Governance
