THUNDER BAY -- Mayor Keith Hobbs has stepped away from social media and doesn't plan on going back.
Fed up with racism, bullying and threats against his family, some of which were investigated by police, the mayor has deleted his accounts. The move is a stark contrast to 2010 when Hobbs credited his use of social media as being partially responsible for his then first successful mayoral campaign.
"It's just so brutal out there,” Hobbs said. “I can't believe the amount of bullying, the racism and we obviously have a lot of work to do in this city.
"It got so bad. It got personal. My children were attacked, my fiancee was attacked. There comes a point where you can only put up with so much … I don't want to engage in that kind of idiocy."
Hobbs said it's a shame because he wanted to use social media as part of his open door policy to engage with people and get feedback. But he'll still return every phone call and meet with anyone who needs to speak with him.
"Anyone who wants an appointment with the mayor, gets an appointment," he said.
The city needs to communicate and educate people more and there's a lot of work left to do through initiatives like the anti-racism committee Hobbs said.
"We have to educate the ignorant people that know nothing about First Nations issues, but rail on them all the time," he said.
On bullying Hobbs said the problem starts at home. How can anyone expect children to stop bullying when adult bullying in Thunder Bay is rampant.
"We have an adult bullying problem in this city first and that's where it starts," he said.
