Christopher Rufo, documentary filmmaker, husband, and father of two young boys has decided to abandon his bid to become Seattle’s next City Council member, in the interest of protecting his young family.

Rufo, originally from California, is a documentary filmmaker, and spent 10 years directing documentaries for PBS and Netflix around the world. “I’ve also filmed in America’s poorest communities, learning how bad public policies can put a city into decline,” he says on his campaign fundraiser website.

“Unfortunately, here in Seattle, the ideologues on our city council are putting in place some of those same disastrous policies,” Rufo says. One of his films is America Lost, which “explores the collapse of family, economic, and community life in three of America’s ‘forgotten cities’” — Stockton, California; Youngstown, Ohio; and Memphis, Tennessee.

Rufo is a member of the Opportunity for All Coalition and a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the city of Seattle’s municipal income tax. He’s openly against government overspending, which he explains in great detail in an op-ed he wrote for the Seattle Times in March.

“At the end of the day, most politician’s objectives are about accumulating more revenue for government to control, not solving any of our real problems with cost-effective and high-impact policies and programs,” Rufo wrote. – My Ballard

Now My Ballard is reporting that Christopher Rufo sent an email to his supporters explaining that he and his family have received countless messages of threats and harassment. The threats became too much, Rufo explained in an email to his Crowdpac supporters.

“I was prepared to take the heat, but unfortunately, they have focused their hatred on my wife and children,” Rufo said in his email.

He continues:

They’ve made vile racist attacks against my wife, attempted to get her fired from Microsoft, and threatened sexual violence. They’ve even posted hateful comments on our 8-year-old son’s school Facebook page. I know that as the race progresses, the activists will ratchet up their hate-machine and these attacks will intensify significantly.

Rufo, who announced his campaign in September, has been vocal about his plan to take on homelessness as a city councilmember. His December 6 event to speak about his research on Seattle homelessness has also been canceled.

I feel deeply disappointed about this turn of events and hope that I have not disappointed you, too. I’ve been overwhelmed by the support, love, and passion from hundreds of people all over the Puget Sound. I know in my heart that our cause is just and our ideas would make Seattle a better place. But my primary responsibility is to make sure my family is healthy, happy, and safe. That’s not possible in our current political climate, which has been overtaken by polarization and the ever-present threat of violence.

Rufo said he plans to spend the next few months writing about his experience in a series of essays — “Since I announced my campaign, I’ve learned that our problem here in Seattle is much deeper than the city council’s policies — we have created a culture of intolerance that is deeply destructive to the common good.”

Since the launch of his campaign, Rufo’s Crowdpac campaign has raised $12,760 of his $15,000 goal. Rufo says he plans to refund all of his donors, and will personally cover all costs of the campaign.