A day after announcing her intention to run for a seat on Kamloops city council, former councillor Nancy Bepple has shed light on why she stepped down from council in March.
“I was diagnosed with having bipolar syndrome and I needed to learn how to deal with that, just like somebody who has diabetes or somebody who has Crohn’s disease or any other health issue,” Bepple told KTW.
At a press conference at Kamloops City Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 24, Bepple chose not to disclose to media what health issues led to her resignation — a move she said she made to keep the focus of the event on her plans to run and on her platform, which focuses on topics such as attracting skilled workers and beautifying public spaces.
“I think it would put people’s minds at ease that I’m ready to get back to work and I have the energy and focus to do a good job,” Bepple said when asked why she chose to go into more detail about her resignation a day later.
While the city does allow councillors to take medical leaves of absence, Bepple said she wasn’t sure how long she would need to adjust to the diagnosis, or if returning to her seat before the end of the term would be realistic.
She said most of her focus in the past six months has been on improving her lifestyle, which now includes swimming a kilometre every day.
“Overall, it’s been very positive,” Bepple said.
“I’ve learned how to exercise more, eat better, have more regular sleep, a host of other things.
“It’s mostly about having a healthy lifestyle.”
Bepple believes voters will focus on her past record on council — on which she served from 2008 to 2014 — rather than on her mental health.
“What I’ve learned is there’s a huge, huge number of people with health issues and they get up, they go to work and they get things done,” she said.
“I’m not different than any of those people.”
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