Keith Hobbs (born July 9, 1952) is a Canadian politician, who was elected mayor of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population i ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

in the 2010 municipal election. Prior to his term in political office, Hobbs served as a member of the Thunder Bay Police for 34 years."City of Thunder Bay - Profile"
. ''

City of Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

'', December 10, 2010. Hobbs was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, UK and immigrated to Canada at a young age. His family settled in Thunder Bay in 1964. In 2017 Hobbs and city's police chief, J. P. Levesque, were charged with extortion and obstruction of justice by the

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorp ...

Criminal charges

On July 21, 2017, Hobbs and his wife were charged by the

with extortion and obstruction of justice."Thunder Bay mayor Keith Hobbs, two others charged with extortion"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', July 21, 2017. The police statement alleges that Keith and Marisa Hobbs and city resident Mary Voss tried to pressure Alexander Zaitzeff, a prominent lawyer in the city, to buy Voss a house in exchange for her silence regarding an allegation that Zaitzeff had sexually assaulted her. Hobbs took a 90-day leave of absence from his duties as mayor upon the announcement of the charges, returning on September 25. The city's police chief, J. P. Levesque, has also been under suspension since May after being charged with breach of trust and obstruction of justice for allegedly disclosing confidential information about Hobbs."Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs, wife and 1 other charged with extortion"
CBC Thunder Bay, July 21, 2017. Police have confirmed that the charges stem from the same investigation. Police subsequently withdrew the obstruction of justice charges. On February 20, 2020, Justice Dawson found Hobbs not guilty of extortion.

City Council Mining meeting disruption

On April 9, 2013, Hobbs, while attending a

Thunder Bay City Council The Thunder Bay City Council is the governing body of the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It consists of a mayor and twelve councillors. The mayor and five of the councillors are elected at large, with one councillor being elected for each ...

meeting,

arrested An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questi ...

a man who stood up and began shouting profanities and was interrupting the meeting. When police arrived, they verified that the man was intoxicated and charged him for being intoxicated in a public place under the Ontario Liquor Licence Act and was

ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a tol ...

ed and fined $65. He was put in a drunk tank, until he sobered up.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobbs, Keith Mayors of Thunder Bay Living people 1952 births Canadian police officers