Princeton council adopted its first-ever social media policy at its regular meeting Monday night.
In addition to establishing rules and authorizing administrators for the town’s website and Facebook page, the policy sets direction for members of council using their own social media accounts.
The policy states that members of council cannot use their social media accounts as official media platforms for the town, and that they will include the words “in my opinion” when creating posts or writing comments on social media that are related to town matters.
The three-page policy occasioned scant discussion before it was passed, but The Spotlight got councillors chatting about its implications in a series of interviews Tuesday.
Mayor Frank Armitage is the only member of council who doesn’t have a Facebook account.
“No, I don’t have a personal page and no thank you,” he said.
“I do think it’s a personal choice as a communications tool…And I think I get around enough. I’m certainly available. I support activities in the community and I speak with those people who wish to discuss matters with me at any time. I’m in town hall most days of the week except when I am out at appointments.”
Armitage said the policy was recommended by Princeton CAO Cheryl Martens, and is similar to guidelines enacted by other municipalities.
Councillor Kim Maynard welcomed the new rules.
“It concerns me when strong political or social comments are on personal Facebook or Twitter because those can sometimes be interpreted to be the beliefs of the entire council and I think we have to be really careful of that.”
Maynard said he is reluctant to discuss council matters when they arise on his own Facebook page and prefers to meet constituents in person to discuss issues.
“At first I answered a couple of questions [on Facebook] but I consider town business to be town business and that’s separate from my personal life for the most part..I might tell them to phone me because my cell phone is on my business card and I am easy to access.”
Maynard said if he decides to run for council in 2018 he is unsure if he will utilize social media in his campaign.
“I haven’t really thought seriously about it. It has crossed my mind but it certainly would have to be something that is for me personally and it could not be attached to the town in any way.”
Councillor Rosemary Doughty said she would consider using a web page in any election run “but I won’t use general social media for self-promotion at all…If I run I will go door to door and speak directly with people, the old fashioned way.”
Doughty said she refrains from commenting on local issues pages when it comes to municipal topics.
“Sometimes it’s really difficult not to respond because I really want people to have accurate information and I see that misinformation floating around and some extreme emotions.”
Councillor Jerome Tjerkstra has sometimes offered information on Facebook pages.
“I make sure that I am speaking for myself with answers that are short and clear and I direct people to face to face conversations.”
He said often issues are too complex to be suitable to an online conversation.
“I think it’s valuable that when the public reads the Facebook pages of people in office that it is clear to the reader that the opinions expressed are that of the person in office or the politician..it needs to be clear that in certain situations the councillors or politicians view things very differently.”
Councillor Doug Pateman has also occasionally commented on Facebook posts that are directed towards the town.
“If it’s something I feel I can answer right then and there I will but generally I really do like the whole face to face thing…They know that if I am speaking to them I am not hiding behind a keyboard. There seems to be something that is lacking behind a lot of interaction.”
Pateman has not officially announced a re-election campaign “but I am going to run and I’m going to run as a councillor. I still have a whack of stuff I want to get done…When I ran for election last time and I had to campaign I did the door to door. I did the work, let’s put it that way.”
This time around?
“I’m not sure if I would use social media or not.”