| Carole Keeton Strayhorn, the sixty-nine year old candidate for Mayor of Austin, currently has fewer supporters on Facebook than both Lee Leffingwell and Brewster McCracken. Of course, that is hardly news. Actually, Strayhorn is making more progress online than you may think, although the gap between her and the two other candidates remains substantial. Their "grassroots twitter" moment aside, Strayhorn's campaign has begun to do a better job of reaching out to supporters online. You also may recognize a few of the names of the people leading Strayhorn's efforts on Facebook. Her Facebook group was created by Andrew Solomon, a former UT Student Government President who is listed as one of Strayhorn's campaign co-chairs. Solomon has helped with the campaign's online outreach and sees it as a potential way to get students involved in the campaign. "It's our goal to try and connect students to her campaign, and to help Carole shape her message in a way that reflects what the students need. Whether it be happy hours or forums, we're going to get as many young people as possible involved in her campaign," Solomon told BOR. Ben Barnes, grandson of former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes, is also an administrator of Strayhorn's Facebook group. Barnes seems to understand that more than ever online strategy will play a big role in the mayoral campaign. "Obviously, online resources will play a more than substantial role in the race, and Carole needs a very active presence in this area to win," Barnes told BOR. Barnes told BOR he got involved with Strayhorn's mayoral campaign after working with "Students for Strayhorn" in 2006. You may recall that the former Lt. Gov. and his wife Melanie contributed over $65,000 to Strayhorn's 2006 Gubernatorial campaign. As of December 31, neither Barnes had contributed to Strayhorn's mayoral bid. Both Solomon and Barnes are students at UT Law School, where Strayhorn's father Page Keeton served as Dean for twenty-five years. Say what you will about Strayhorn (and there is plenty to say), but it is good to see her campaign embracing tools like Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. Whether Austinites will embrace her campaign is another story. Disclosure: I am supporting Lee Leffingwell for Mayor. |
