A Democratic councilman in Philadelphia is paying a media company thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds to tweet on his behalf, according to the Philly Daily News.
The paper reports:
The at-large councilman is spending $28,800 in taxpayer money this fiscal year for the Center City-based company ChatterBlast to perfect his "social-media strategy." The company monitors his Twitter and Facebook pages, and has posted on Kenney's campaign-funded website.
No other Council member pays a contractor to help with Twitter. Just Kenney, who has the third-priciest staff on Council. He has 10 staff members with a payroll of $654,034, including his salary - plus another outside communications consultant. ...
Martin O'Rourke, the politically connected PR man whom Kenney's office already is paying $30,000 this fiscal year for a communications contract, doesn't have that facility [to handle Twitter], either.
"I have no clue how to tweet; I still don't understand the mechanics of it. It's a thing of the future," said O'Rourke, who has earned big bucks through contracts with City Controller Alan Butkovitz's office and the Philadelphia Parking Authority.