Dear City Officials - Fix Parks & Rec PR Issue
Whenever I feel strongly about an issue having to do with the city, I usually pick of the phone and call the offices of almost every city rep and let them know how I feel about an issue.
Sometimes I call them to support an issue or a vote, sometimes I call to complain. I'm entitled to, I'm a constituent. Their job is to hear me complain.
But every once in a while, I have the opportunity to use my public soap box to discuss an issue I feel strongly about. This is one of those times. And be forewarned, I came pretty close to breaking my New Years Resolution against cursing in my blog (almost 10 months now!).
Fellow bloggers Tim Tolbert and David K turned me on to an issue that should have everyone who cares about transparency, especially in the era of public corruption, up in arms about. Read about it in El Paso Naturally or Refuse the Juice.
City officials need to fix it and fix it now. Yep, I'm talking to you Joyce Wilson and yes, I'm talking to the Mayor and every single member of city council.
From Tolbert's blog, it appears that Wayne Thornton, who I've always known to be a great guy, is refusing to put Tolbert on a mailing list because he doesn't consider him media. CITY OFFICIALS NEED TO FIX THAT AND FIX IT NOW!
Sorry Wayne, you don't get to decide who is and who isn't media. Your title as I understand it is Public Relations Director. Its not Director of Communications with Whoever-The-Hell-You-Arbitrarily-Decide-is-Media. So you have to relate to the public. Face it, El Paso has a pretty robust blogosphere. Get with the times and understand that digital media is here to stay.
I don't know about other bloggers in town because I haven't asked, but I am on most media lists in town despite the fact that I am not a journalist. They understand the interface we have with the community. I'm on the State Senator's list, the Congressman's list, most of the State Delegation's list, a lot of non-profit organizations, and I even get stuff occasionally from the White House.
Yeah, I'm name-dropping here because I think its pretty Bush league for a rinky-dink city department to refuse to put someone on their list. Especially when that blogger is someone who actually blogs about a topic that the few people in town that actually give a crap about your department would actually read. Its not only pompous to not include Tolbert on the list, but its bad public relations strategy.
You know who else has me on their list, just about every City Rep.
The biggest lie elected officials in town (not all of them, only the less savvy ones) say is that they don't read blogs.
Puro pedo.
When they tell me that its usually followed by them proceeding to quote me or another blogger chapter and verse.
So...if the City Reps that are reading this, and lets face it, we both know you are, you need to pick up the phone, or shoot an email to someone and fix this issue. Don't be hypocritical, you guys turn to bloggers to get information out all the time. We provide a service for you. You know the value of what we do. You recognize the value by including us on your lists so there's no reason Tolbert should be refused.
And you know the value of somebody like Jim Tolbert.
Sometimes I call them to support an issue or a vote, sometimes I call to complain. I'm entitled to, I'm a constituent. Their job is to hear me complain.
But every once in a while, I have the opportunity to use my public soap box to discuss an issue I feel strongly about. This is one of those times. And be forewarned, I came pretty close to breaking my New Years Resolution against cursing in my blog (almost 10 months now!).
Fellow bloggers Tim Tolbert and David K turned me on to an issue that should have everyone who cares about transparency, especially in the era of public corruption, up in arms about. Read about it in El Paso Naturally or Refuse the Juice.
City officials need to fix it and fix it now. Yep, I'm talking to you Joyce Wilson and yes, I'm talking to the Mayor and every single member of city council.
From Tolbert's blog, it appears that Wayne Thornton, who I've always known to be a great guy, is refusing to put Tolbert on a mailing list because he doesn't consider him media. CITY OFFICIALS NEED TO FIX THAT AND FIX IT NOW!
Sorry Wayne, you don't get to decide who is and who isn't media. Your title as I understand it is Public Relations Director. Its not Director of Communications with Whoever-The-Hell-You-Arbitrarily-Decide-is-Media. So you have to relate to the public. Face it, El Paso has a pretty robust blogosphere. Get with the times and understand that digital media is here to stay.
I don't know about other bloggers in town because I haven't asked, but I am on most media lists in town despite the fact that I am not a journalist. They understand the interface we have with the community. I'm on the State Senator's list, the Congressman's list, most of the State Delegation's list, a lot of non-profit organizations, and I even get stuff occasionally from the White House.
Yeah, I'm name-dropping here because I think its pretty Bush league for a rinky-dink city department to refuse to put someone on their list. Especially when that blogger is someone who actually blogs about a topic that the few people in town that actually give a crap about your department would actually read. Its not only pompous to not include Tolbert on the list, but its bad public relations strategy.
You know who else has me on their list, just about every City Rep.
The biggest lie elected officials in town (not all of them, only the less savvy ones) say is that they don't read blogs.
Puro pedo.
When they tell me that its usually followed by them proceeding to quote me or another blogger chapter and verse.
So...if the City Reps that are reading this, and lets face it, we both know you are, you need to pick up the phone, or shoot an email to someone and fix this issue. Don't be hypocritical, you guys turn to bloggers to get information out all the time. We provide a service for you. You know the value of what we do. You recognize the value by including us on your lists so there's no reason Tolbert should be refused.
And you know the value of somebody like Jim Tolbert.
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