Mayor Keith Hobbs is used to the media spotlight and the barrage of questions that comes with it.
On Thursday he survived being grilled for half an hour straight, and unlike most politicians, he didn’t duck a single question.
And despite the fact they were delivered by a classroom filled with Grade 5 students, they didn’t hold anything back.
“Is it hard to work at city hall?” one youngster asked.
“Is being the mayor fun?” another queried.
“Have you always wanted to be mayor?” questioned another.
Have you ever met Dalton McGuinty?” asked a politically minded student.
And then came the toughest question of them all.
“What’s going on with the wind turbines?”
Hobbs answered as he always does these days, telling the Nor’Westerview classroom that the Horizon Wind Inc.’s turbine decision is in the hands of the province, and that’s where it’s bound to stall and ultimately be turned down.
Approaching the one-year anniversary of his surprising election a year ago, Hobbs shot it straight with the students, adding he was surprised at the depth of their political knowledge.
“It was quite an experience. They’re brilliant kids. We were talking civics and politics and they knew so much. I didn’t have to tell them much at all,” Hobbs said.
“You know, there’s that show, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader. And I’ve got to say, barely. These kids are brilliant and they came up with some tough questions.”
Ten-year-old Annie Lacourciere waited anxiously for a month for Hobbs to pay his visit, an invitation handed to him in letter form in September by a classmate’s father.
“I wanted to ask him about the wind turbines,” she said, “and if they’re going to be put up and if they’re going to cause health problems.”
Her class has spent the past month or so learning about Canada’s three levels of government, and Thursday’s visit provided a chance to get a firsthand look at Thunder Bay’s top elected official.
“I like him,” Annie said. “He’s very nice.”
Her teacher, Spice Donohue, said a big part of this particular section of the curriculum is citizenship and how to get involved in the community.
“It really engaged the kids and gave them a hometown perspective about what government is like in their lives,” she said, after watching Hobbs discuss everything from the city structure, to salaries to taxes.
Even Donahue was a little surprised at the questions that her students peppered the mayor with.
“I have fabulous students. They’ve been really excited about his unit, and we’re at the end of the unit, so they really have quite a good grasp for 10-year-olds about what government is all about.”
She wouldn’t be surprised if one or more of her students wind up making it their calling some day.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we have a mayor, a premier or even a prime minister in this group somewhere.”
