Jake calling it a day

SCOTT TRUDEAU/Penticton Herald Friday, August 27, 2010
Following one term as a city councillor and three terms as head of Penticton City Council, former mayor Jake Kimberley is calling it day ending speculation in the community that he’s mounting a political comeback. Kimberley recently sat down with the Herald and said he‘s had time to consider his political future and insisted he‘s got no plans to run in the next municipal elections in 2011.

In 2008, Kimberley who was the incumbent, finished third behind winner Dan Ashton and Gary Leaman. “’Id love to have taken another term and then call it quits,” he said. For two of the three years of his last term, he was focused on bringing a new arena to the city and was able to bring that into fruition when the South Okanagan Events Centre opened in the fall of 2008. “I wanted to do another three-year term because I wanted to see it become successful,” said Kimberley, who stands by the decision to build the facility which has come under fire due to its $80-million price tag. As for the naysayers who have called the arena an unnecessary drain taxpayers and city‘s coffers, “Your critics don‘t make the decisions.” He said if the city had put construction of a new arena on hold the price of materials and building costs would have continued to escalate in the next few years until the matter was revisited. He added citizens also don‘t have all the pertinent information at their disposal compared to those on council. Kimberley said that during his most recent term, he was fortunate to work with a “progressive council” who put through more legislation than all previous councils.

His only afterthought was that he should have asked for a review of early estimates for construction of an arena which was originally priced in the range of $40 million back in 2005. Earlier in his career, Kimberley had a small interest in party politics but noted that among his greatest ambitions was to serve the community of Penticton. Now that he‘s closed the book on the political arena gone are the long hours he invested as mayor which inevitably take a toll on those closest to you. “It‘s your friends and family that makes you realize the level of stress you‘re under,” he said.

Kimberly was a Penticton city councillor for one term before running successfully for mayor in 1990. He won again in 1993 and is the only the second person to win back-to-back since Robert Lyon was elected to consecutive, two-year terms from 1946 to 1949. These days he‘s on the board for the SS Sicamous and for Crime Stoppers and he spends his time in retirement enjoying his grandchildren, regular gym workouts and golf outings. “I have no regrets of what we achieved when I was in office,” he said.