Social Media & Election Day

Dear Candidates,

Today is election day and I’ll be headed to the polls shortly.

But as I walk around town, I wonder what the heck the local political movers and shakers are thinking. Really the only indication that there is an election going on are the hundreds of signs and placards you’ve plastered on windows and placed on front lawns.

Here in Lancaster the biggest race is that for Mayor. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Rick Gray facing off against former Republican Mayor Charlie Smithgall. And aside from the signs, and the occasional article about “he said/he said,” I’ve discovered that neither of you candidates are doing very little to earn my vote. In fact, I’ve read your “platforms” and I’ve yet to see what it is either of you are actually “for.” I just know what you are “against.” Seems you are only against each other.

Here we have two retirement-aged white men running for Mayor of a very diverse city. One would think that after the most recent Presidential election, you might follow the lead of President Obama and others in their use of social media (even if much of that was for show). What a great way to connect with people in a very real way, get the message out, listen to your constituents, and reach a younger audience. What a great way for us to be able to ask REAL questions in hopes of getting REAL answers.

So I checked to see if either of you had any sort of social media presence. The answer: not really. As far as I can tell, Mayor Gray has no presence whatsoever on either Facebook or Twitter.

As for you, Charlie Smithgall, you have a presence on both, but why bother? Your Facebook page is a) set up incorrectly, b) poorly utilized, and c) has only 123 “fans”. You also have a Twitter account, but again it is severely underutilized, and has only 5 followers (while not following anyone).

Dear Politicians, take the lead of large corporations like Comcast or Home Depot. View social media as a necessary feature of your campaign, a great way to address your public and get immediate feedback. You both claim to be “of the people” and for the citizens of Lancaster. But guess where your voters are? Many of them are on Facebook and Twitter, waiting to be engaged.

You complain about the media editing what you say and boiling it down to sound bites. With social media, you can say what you want, when you want, without any gatekeepers.

Or…is that what makes you (and your handlers) nervous? Better yet, stick with your lawn signs and scripted debates. Much safer that way. Maybe it’s best we stay in the dark…

Tagged as: election, politics, Social Media