Keith Hobbs, New Mayor of Thunder Bay
by Scott A. Sumner
It was great to sit down with Mayor Keith Hobbs just before he assumed office on November 30th. I asked him some questions about his path to the position, his background and goals for Thunder Bay.
Where you born Keith?
I was born in London England and we moved to Toronto, Kitchener, Sioux Lookout and then to Thunder Bay, Ontario in 1964. My father worked for the LCBO and my mother was a teacher in Sioux Lookout. They retired to BC. My father is dead now but my mom is alive and 88 years
old. She suffered a stroke but is still living in her own home.
You became a police officer after school?
My brother Richard was going into Investors and suggested maybe I try that, but I always wanted to be a RCMP officer as a kid. The opportunity came up; I applied and got accepted in 1976 at 23 years old and retired March 17, 2010 from a 34 year career. I was President of
the Police Association and looked after the bargaining and grievance issues. My rank was a watch commander or a staff sergeant. You are involved in enforcing policy and ensuring procedures are adhered to. As watch commander you are basically Chief of Police when the other senior officers aren’t around on the 4 to 12 shift. It is a very responsible position. I got to know every square inch of the city. You get to know where the trouble spots are.
Why after a long career in policing did you decide to run for mayor?
First of all I am not the type to sit around and do nothing. I am a workaholic. I don’t sleep well and only get 4 hours of sleep anyhow at night because I have a bad back. I am sure it will catch up to me. I ran for mayor basically because I didn’t like crime in the city and how things were playing out. I am interested in economic development and want to see the city move forward as we are losing our population base. One of my sons had to go to Ottawa to get a job in his field so know what it feels like to have a child that has to move away. I really sympathize with those people whose children have to move away. We have to create jobs here big time. My campaign platform was in four areas: safe community, positive development, transparency in government and fiscal responsibility. Tax rates and utility rates are choking us. Seniors staying in their homes is vital and that should be our goal. Keeping the people that are here in good shape is important.
You chose to run as mayor for your first entry into politics?
Many people said you have never even been a councillor; you don’t have a chance and should run for councillor first. I didn’t think that I would achieve what I want to achieve as a councillor, albeit a mayor is only one voice of 13. I have had a lot of leadership roles, looking after organized crime projects and the intelligence unit. The leader’s job is to get everyone moving forward on the same page. The mayor is a full time position and I am retired. I have the time to devote to this job 150% and I will give it that. I worked very hard to be elected. Working 16 hour days would be a good assessment, day in day out since March when I announced my intention to run for mayor. I may have had 2 or 3 days off since then and since the election have had
very little time off. I knocked on over 20,000 doors and lost 30 pounds doing it. It was hot summer. I talked to tons of people and went to all the events. The platform that our team came up with was those issues that I heard the most on the campaign trail. It was an awesome way. We are now doing walk- a- bout Wednesdays. I did the hospital recently with the new CEO and it was an incredible experience. Tomorrow, I move into the office and am up to speed already. I have built networks with the President of LU, the College, MP’s, MPP’s, First Nations’ leaders and every councillor one on one. We met last night as a group.
The current Thunder Bay Police Chief announced his retirement after
your election win?
The police chief planned to retire. I am not reading anything into that. I think the change will be good for the community and good for him. He will be able to relax now. He put in 30 plus years in policing in a stressful position. I tip my hat to the chief. We may have butted heads on some issues as I was a critic. When you are a critic, you have to come up with solutions or potential solutions. I hope he has an enjoyable retirement. I do believe it is time for some different
direction there, and hope that we get a whole new police services board. Change is good. I will be on the board so there is experience and I can provide the police perspective.
What will you do your first days in the mayor’s office?
It will not be what Keith Hobbs does as mayor but what city council and the mayor do together. I am a team player. We will start with a strategic plan looking at the tax issues and where we will go in the city. The strategic plan and the budget will be the first two issues we will address. We will be thrown right into it. I think there are a lot of areas where there is waste and we can improve our services and keep our taxes at an acceptable level. I think that is achievable. People are saying it will be hard to do, but a tough challenge is the kind of thing I like. It gives me a challenge to tackle. As a city council, we will try a 0% tax increase. It may be a dream but we have to try. We need to prioritize our services and what services we deliver. A strategic plan is very important.
What will Keith Hobbs do for the business community in Thunder Bay?
We have to try to find incentives to get business here. I am not a big fan of big box stores, however they are coming. When we open up the city with mining, the big box stores will come as well but I think our first loyalty should be to local businesses. They pay taxes, employ
local citizens and their money is spent in the community. Big box stores create jobs but most of the profits go out of the city. I would like to see more local small business and that is where groups like the Young Professionals and the Chamber of Commerce comes into play. I have
met with them and I would like to see them get involved in the community development office. The new medical jobs are great but we have to diversify as well. We have had an opportunity with mining and could be the new Timmins of the North. We need to bring those blue collar jobs back that have gone out west. We will be both white collar and blue collar. We are right on the cusp of some good things here. The world economy has to play into it as well. We need to look at both Ireland or Spain and how they will affect us. It is truly global economy.
What do you like about Thunder Bay?
I love this city. My heart is here. I lived out in BC, which is one of the most beautiful areas in the world and I came back here to live and work. There is something about Thunder Bay that gets in your blood. I don’t know what it is but it makes you want to come back.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
When I have spare time, one of my biggest passions is hockey. I am a diehard Boston Bruins fan, have all their stuff and watch the games. I used to play baseball but had a car accident in 1989, which curtailed playing baseball. I like to read, hike and fish. Family is the most important thing to me. I have 4 brothers. Both my sons are very political. The supper table at our house is all about politics.
