So the Portland mayoral race is starting to move into the next phase, with the candidates coming off of the first formal debate, this week.
Having candidates debating always leads me to wonder… How are those conversations happening online? And what sort of sway do Eileen Brady, Charlie Hales, and Jefferson Smith hold in terms of social networks?
It’s a fair question. Given that Portland Mayor Sam Adams has amassed an impressive Twitter following—upwards of 43,000 followers as of this post—and he uses his social media presence for everything from debating Occupy Portland to responding to pothole reports.
So how do the current candidates line up in the online world? Let’s take a look.
Eileen Brady
- Twitter: @EileenBrady has 641 followers
- Facebook: Eileen’s Facebook fan page has 1537 likes
- Twitalyzer: 62
- Klout: 37
Charlie Hales
- Twitter: @HalesforMayor has 189 followers
- Facebook: Charlie’s Facebook fan page has 481 likes
- Twitalyzer: 23
- Klout: 23
Jefferson Smith
- Twitter: @jeffersondsmith has 1398 followers
- Facebook: Jefferson’s Facebook fan page has 2201 likes
- Twitalyzer: 62
- Klout: 41
So, in terms of online presence, Jefferson has the early lead.
I’ll work to keep an eye on these metrics as the race goes on. It could be a leading indicator. Or it could be fluff. But it’s worth watching. Especially as the campaigns begin to ramp up.
And maybe we can get the candidates to chat with us on Meet the Startup—like Sam Adams did—so we can get more insight into their views on the Portland startup scene than just social media metrics.
I mean, every political campaign is a startup, right?
(Image courtesy Derrick Coetzee. Used under Creative Commons.)