No-B.S. Cavers wants the crap out of politics
Kamloops This Week is sitting down with all newly elected city councillors and school trustees and introducing them to our readers. First up were city councillors Nelly Dever and Ken Christian and school trustee Meghan Wade, whose stories can be read online at kamloopsthisweek.com. Today, we talk to incoming city councillor Donovan Cavers, who ran as the Green in previous federal elections. Subsequent editions of KTW will include profiles of other newcomers to the local political scene.
It’s no surprise.
The rookie city councillor has no interest in talking about himself, even for a KTW profile on all the new members.
“It’s not about me. It’s about Kamloops,” Cavers said.
Instead, he wants to talk about issues and ideas.
Before the new council even sat down for its first meeting this week, Cavers was discussing his concerns about the city.
For example, he said part of the city’s sustainability plan includes council looking at any new items on the agenda through a sustainability lens.
But, that hasn’t been the case, according to Cavers.
“Seems like that should already be happening,” he said.
His veracity on issues being important to him is a good glimpse as to how Cavers will conduct himself as a city councillor.
“I’m a no-bullshit kind of guy,” he said, adding he sees a lot of that dirty word in the city and politics in general.
Though Cavers shies away from his own spotlight, he will be familiar to many Kamloopsians.
The 26-year-old, who is the youngest councillor at the table by a baker’s-dozen years, is already a political veteran.
Besides plastering buses with his face during November’s civic-election campaign to bring attention to the need for better transit service in the city, Cavers ran twice for the Green Party of Canada in consecutive federal elections, both times finishing fourth, but with respectable results.
In 2008, Cavers doubled the Greens’ support in the Kamloops riding, while in the May election, he fell just short of beating the Liberal candidate.
In the civic election, Cavers picked up 7,118 votes for a seventh-place finish.
Besides a now part-time political career, Cavers runs a flourishing catering business, Conscientious Catering, the philosophy of which is to use locally grown, organic food.
Even Cavers admits juggling two careers and an impending marriage could lead to burnout, but he’s confident it’s all under control.
“It’s going to be difficult to manage everything all together, but I’ll be able to do it,” he said.
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