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Victoria mayor deactivates Twitter account “for now”

Lisa Helps tweeted about “negative people and irrelevant comments” on Saturday
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Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps has deactivated her Twitter account as of Sunday morning, July 19. (Nicole Crescenzi/News Staff)

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps has deactivated her Twitter account, as confirmed Sunday morning.

This move comes a day after she had tweeted about negative people with “irrelevant comments” to have a more positive outlook on the city. In a tweet in the afternoon of July 18, she pointed out that the Ocean Futures Innovation Hub, a maritime centre proposed in the downtown core, was a positive for the city’s future.

“As soon as I had posted, a whole bunch of comments about homelessness and tenting came into the feed,” said Helps in a recent blog post. “And comments on my performance as mayor. […] I can take criticism. You don’t sign up for a job like this if you can’t.”

In the blog post, Helps goes on to say that when negative commentators point out problems that are “irrelevant to the matter”, it creates an ongoing negative story about Victoria.

The mayor acknowledged that the homelessness crisis in the city has worsened during COVID-19. She shines a spotlight on Victoria 3.0, the city’s blueprint for sustained recovery post-pandemic. She also points out the surge in outdoor patios in the downtown and village centres, plus the arts and culture events popping up throughout the city.

“I’ll be back at some point when the time feels right,” said Helps. “I’m taking a break from Twitter to give all these community efforts the opportunity to shine, without detraction on my Twitter feed.”

READ MORE: Victoria mayor advocates finding shelter for people during COVID-19 pandemic

ALSO READ: Hotels might not be best option for Victoria’s homeless population


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aaron.guillen@goldstreamgazette.com