The photo says it all:
Councillor Andrea Reimer offers an apology for her Twitter post on the steps of City Hall.
Shell-shocked. Humbled. Apologetic. These are all words that I would attribute to Andrea Reimer in her apology made to various media outlets on Friday. She was contrite and appropriately willing to admit complete fault without hesitation over her out of line comments about Housing and Social Development Minister Rich Coleman. I think there is a larger discussion to be had about “social media” and whether these various communication forms are actually useful within the political realm I reference a comment made in the above-linked CTV story from someone named Mike:
“…Facebook and Twitter by public officials; they are a waste of time and, as evidenced by this situation, fraught with the risk of people making hasty comments. Taxpayers expect more from public officials and especially that they should be working on improving the city rather through appropriate channels than through public networking sites.”
The question of whether Twitter and Facebook give the electorate a better window into the kind of representation they are getting is suspect, seemingly favouring the celebrity obsessed culture that has pervaded every other aspect of our society. I am sorry, but reading Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh’s Twitter posts on riding the bus or staying up until 5:00am is not exactly my idea of value-added for my Member of Parliament (I moved into his constituency in July).
Regardless, while Reimer received a tough lesson, it seems as though the usual politics of lone NPA Councillor Suzanne Anton continue, proving that she has learned very little in terms of adjusting her attitude.
