Boston Mayor Martin Walsh invited constituents to participate in a virtual Twitter question-and-answer session with him Wednesday, through use of the hashtag #ASKMJW.
The chat lasted about a half hour.
Using his twitter handle, @marty_walsh, Walsh identified Boston’s bid in hosting the 2024 Olympics as the first major issue deserving response.
“Hosting the Games provides great opportunity, but Boston 2024 must make their case to the people of Boston. I serve the people #AskMJW,” Walsh tweeted to Twitter user @warCAWQ during the conversation session.
Walsh’s responses jumped between addressing various concerns and asking for more information from constituents when unsure of the context of a question.
During the virtual conversation forum, Walsh mentioned his Sunday panel with mayors across the country in support of an increase in federal transportation spending, the move to add more seats to the universal pre-kindergarten program to combat the education gap, actions of his Homelessness Task Force and the steps the city is taking toward becoming one of the world’s Top 10 Smart Cities by 2024.
After the record-breaking snowfall of this past winter, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority struggled with keeping trains and buses functioning for constituents. Walsh addressed public questions about making the city more pedestrian and biker friendly.
“Today we announced new parking meters, new bike lanes and vision zero for public safety. We’ll take a look #ASKMJW,” Walsh tweeted to Twitter user @LHausle.
Education also emerged as a point of resident concern during the Twitter chat. In his final answer, Walsh refuted accusations that the city has cut millions of dollars in spending on Boston Public Schools, therefore harming education.
“That’s not true — my first budget we increased BPS spending and in my second budget we’ll increase spending again #AskMJW,” Walsh tweeted to Twitter user @RWwatchMA.
Walsh also intermittently responded to extraneous questions irrelevant to the City of Boston’s status, including his favorite Godfather movie, his prediction for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Champion and a response to Zayn Malik leaving One Direction — “We are all devastated about Zayn Malik but we must soldier on #ASKMJW.”
Several residents said Twitter is an effective way to reach out to younger voters, but not everyone would be responsive to it.
Christina Thuerwachter, 31, of Brighton, said she wouldn’t use Twitter to express her concerns.
“My personality is to be more reserved, and that’s not the kind of venue that I would use to voice my opinions,” she said. “It’s possibly one good way to speak to constituents. I don’t think it should be the sole way he should use, but there’s definitely a demographic that that could be used for, particularly college-aged would use something like that.”
Courtney Kelliehan, 48, of Brighton, called Walsh’s form of outreach more than just a political move, but also a sign of Walsh’s knowledge of new media.
“He’s communicating with the constituents through Twitter,” he said. “It’s a sign of the times. If you want to reach people, social media is the way to go. It makes him seem more accessible. It doesn’t seem like he’s so far reaching. He’s trying to have more openness.”
Samantha Morris, 27, of Brighton, said using Twitter is a wise choice for the mayor.
“The younger demographic is definitely an untapped market for a lot of politicians,” she said. “They don’t really think about the fact that they are going to be shaping whatever is happening.”
Kevin Chacom, 26, of Brighton, said young professionals are the main target with Walsh’s use of Twitter.
“He’s trying to reach out to the public in any way possible,” he said. “With youth, nowadays, it’s all social media. It’s the best to get out there. He’s definitely targeting young professionals.”
