Although Gov. Deval Patrick launched a personal website on which residents can post their concerns — as a way to extend his grassroots appeal that helped him win the Corner Office — activists and bloggers have said not enough people have “checked back in” on the site to call it a success yet.
Massachusetts residents can post about issues they find important and vote on others — gay marriage, gun control, renewable energy and state parks funding all have their own sections — on DevalPatrick.com, which was re-launched last month so people can “check in” with state politics, as Patrick describes on the website.
Avi Green, executive director of non-partisan voting rights organization MassVOTE, said the blogs are a free forum for concerned citizens.
“If a politician has an email list or blog, it’s another way to send their info out to the people,” he said. “But the trick is, what I think Patrick is trying to do: How often do politicians use the Internet to listen? I hope it encourages other people to get involved with politicians, with reality.”
Users are competing to get the most votes for their pet projects and, consequently, the governor’s attention, Green added, but cautioned that Patrick should not rely too heavily on the website because it is still unavailable to many low-income residents less likely to use the Internet.
“This is an add-on,” he said, “not a substitute.”
Eastham resident Joe Bayne said his strong belief that the commonwealth has a pressing need to convince reluctant residents to accept the Cape Wind offshore wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound, which is currently under federal review, motivated him to post the issue “making renewable energy work in the commonwealth.”
“I don’t think forcing these technologies is really an acceptable way of proceeding, so I’m seeking ideas for ways of educating people,” he said, adding much local opposition stems from misinformation. Bayne has described the response to his post as “strong,” because it has received 366 votes on the site. “I am hopeful that we will eventually bring forward suggestions for the governor to consider in terms of possible legislative initiatives.”
Patrick recently made his first comment on the site — on Bayne’s post — in which he outlined his agenda and added links to more information. Other comments range from detailed, impassioned perspectives to short blurbs, including one: “Go green or go broke.”
Matt and Aaron Margolis, co-founders and editors-in-chief of political blog HubPolitics.com, said Patrick’s blog is useful but has room for improvement.
The “My Issue” function — the tool central to the website through which users lead discussion — is flawed, they said in a joint email, because opponents of a posted issue can only express their points by creating a completely separate “issue” arguing the opposite viewpoint.
“The ‘My Issue’ feature may be improved by allowing people to vote against an issue, instead of only in favor of it,” they said in the email.
The site’s 4,000 users are only a small portion of the commonwealth’s broad voting population, they added.
“[Four thousand] might sound like a lot, but you’re talking about a very small percentage of the electorate that are really making use of the site’s features,” they said. “So, at best, the site is rallying an already motivated base — a base that doesn’t really need rallying.”
The Deval Patrick Committee did not respond to requests for comment.