COUNCILLOR PULLS OUT OF MAYOR'S RACE

ROB KLOOSTRA HAS SERVED TWO TERMS ON CITY COUNCIL

Coun. Rob Kloostra has decided not to run for mayor in Orillia's next municipal election, after previously announcing his intention to pursue the city's top job. "We have to do what's right for us," Kloostra told Simcoe.com in an interview.

The two-term councillor cited a desire to dedicate more time to his family, the growing demands of a business he and his wife own and the constant negativity of social media among the reasons behind his decision.

"Our family is the most important part of my life," Kloostra said. "I'm a huge support person for our family, and I need to be there for our family and our business."

Kloostra said he has enjoyed his eight years on council, describing the time as both "very rewarding and very demanding,"

"We dealt with COVID, plus we dealt with every other file moving forward," he said. "We opened up a rec centre, we have a Hydro One facility opening up — we never missed a beat."

Kloostra and his wife Sheona have two sons and run a home-care business that experienced a surge in demand for services during the pandemic.

"It's been a complete shift in our company," he said.

The decision not to pursue the mayor's job was also informed by what Kloostra described as an unrelenting stream of social media negativity.

"When there's a council decision, it never seems to be right," he said. "The general public does understand what goes on in the city, but there are people that don't understand."

Kloostra said he makes himself available to residents who have questions about issues, regardless of the ward in which they reside.

Many instead choose to attack him and his family online, he said.

"People are so easy to react to the negatives," he said, adding that the issue weighed on him to the degree that he has all but removed himself from social

media.

"I don't follow social media hardly at all anymore," he added.

Kloostra also suffered a health scare in December with the discovery of four herniated disks in his back.

"Coming off two back surgeries 10 years ago, I really had to regroup my life," he added.