Chicago Tribune reporter Mary Schmich poses a question in her column today, citing San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Newark Mayor Cory Booker:
Should Mayor Richard Daley tweet?
Within the article, there is a telling comment by Paul Green, the director of Roosevelt University's Institute for Politics. Quoting Mary:
Tweets, says Green, who does not tweet, could turn into ammunition for the mayor's enemies. And why would Daley need to tweet, he asks, when he has press conferences?
I guess Paul doesn't see the purpose of the White House tweeting either, eh?
To be fair, he's not alone. Washington Post columnist Chris Cillizza shared similar sentiments this week that politicians should not tweet, though Chris' point is one should think before tweeting; else emotional instincts could lead to trouble.
Reading Mary's article, I noticed she neither linked to, nor shared snapshots, of Booker's or Newsom's Twitter updates. That's where I come in, illustrating 11 mayors and screen shots of their last five tweets. If you are a mayor or other municipal official and considering whether Twitter is a proper social media tool to pursue, have a look:
Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco, California:
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, New Jersey:
Newark Mayor Cory Booker
Mayor Mufi Hannemann of Honolulu, Hawaii:
Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann
Mayor Kathy Taylor of Tulsa, Oklahoma:
Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor
Mayor Jim Byard Jr. of Prattville, Alabama:
Prattville Mayor Jim Byard Jr.
Mayor Percival Brown of Bluff City, Ohio:
Mayor Percival Brown
Mayor R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis, Minnesota:
Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak
Mayor Phil Gordon of Phoenix, Arizona:
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon
Mayor Rob Burton of Oakville, Ontario:
Oakville Mayor Rob Burton
Mayor David Miller of Toronto, Ontario:
Toronto Mayor David Miller
Mayor Sam Adams of Portland, Oregon:
Portland Mayor Sam Adams
It's clear to me that some mayors are tweeting personally, and others have staff members who ghost for them. If you look at the pronouns and the capitalization, you can guess who's authentic and who's merely transparent.
Mayors Phil Gordon, David Miller, and Cory Booker are clearly self-tweeting, whereas Sam Adams is not; Gavin Newsom is a mystery and I wouldn't be surprised if the tweets are a mix of he and his staff.
In any case, these 11 mayors represent a small sample of mayors on Twitter. Tune in next week for similar lists in other categories. Who's your favorite tweeting mayor or other elected leader?
    ÂLink to original post