Summerside’s mayor has returned to social media and open-to-the-public office hours after an experience with online harassment that he ultimately had to report to police.
Since his election in November 2022, Dan Kutcher had been more active than many municipal politicians on social media platforms, and his open-office policy on Friday mornings could be considered unusual among public figures. But he felt that kind of outreach was valuable.
“It always looks different and particular to the individual, and that’s OK. I really think that this role is to try and make sure that our community is a better place than it would be if we weren’t … trying to make people’s lives better across the board,” Kutcher told CBC News in an interview.
“What’s really important is that I take the time to understand their perspective and to be able to share mine.”
His online presence led to some difficult conversations with residents, but he said they typically never escalated beyond respectful disagreements.
That is until about six months ago, when Kutcher began receiving repeated online messages from a man who eventually became more aggressive in his interactions. He would not go into detail about specifics.
The mayor of the P.E.I. city of Summerside took a break from social media after he faced ‘serious threats’ against him and his family. Dan Kutcher sat down with CBC’s Tony Davis to explain what happened — and what motivated him to go back on social media.
Those intereactions culminated in direct threats against the mayor and his family, which Kutcher was advised to report to the police. That’s when he decided to take a break from social media.
“That’s something that you don’t expect when you go in to serve in these types of roles.”
Threats on the rise
Online harassment and threats against politicians, particularly female ones, are on the rise in this province and across the country.
That’s according to the P.E.I. Coalition for Women in Government, which has been contacted by five municipally elected officials within the past six months alone about online harassment and abuse.
Sarah Outram, the coalition’s executive director, said the P.E.I. government needs to consider tougher legislation and consequences for that type of behaviour.
“The internet is not a villain here; it is a tool that can be used, and unfortunately folks are using that tool for harassment, to commit acts of tech-facilitated violence,” Outram said.
“But … an instance of harassment online can translate to in-person harassment. That is a clear trend in the data that we see and it’s something that we’re looking to prevent continuing.”
She said women of colour, people who are gender-diverse, and those who hold a different sexuality are particularly vulnerable to online hate. It can get so bad it deters people from going into politics, Outram said, leading to less diverse representation.
‘They’re hiding behind a keyboard’
Bruce MacDougall, president of the Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities and a Summerside councillor for 34 years, agrees that the rise in online threats will discourage people from running for office at all levels of government.
We used to say people were shooting from the bushes if they were saying things but not coming forward. Now they’re hiding behind a keyboard, and that’s wrong.— Bruce MacDougall
“Back when I got involved first, we used to say people were shooting from the bushes if they were saying things but not coming forward. Now they’re hiding behind a keyboard, and that’s wrong,” he said.
“We have good people out there trying to put their names forward to represent the better good of the community. If this is going to continue, these people are not going to be putting their name forward. It’s something they don’t need, and it should just never happen.”
That’s one of the reasons Kutcher recently decided to return to social media, after “time and reflection,” in his words.
“Social media can be really positive — forget about me, but for residents. So I decided … I’m going to try and refocus on that and continue to use that as another tool to listen and to share perspectives with residents,” he said.
“People can access all politicians in ways that they couldn’t before, whether that’s on Messenger or by telephone or in person. But I also think you need to make sure you’re engaged and out there, because you want to be approachable and you want to be able to be open to hearing people and talking to them.”
Despite the scary incident, the mayor believes most people are good and want to have respectful conversations, even if they disagree with him. His advice is to be respectful and considerate of others’ opinions — and he said we all need to do a better job of listening to each other.
“If I were ever in a situation where I didn’t feel safe or [felt] my family was [not] safe, I wouldn’t do it,” Kutcher said.
“One of the things in this role is that you have to have a lot of trust in people to do what it is they are supposed to do, and do a good job at it.”