Politicians find chat rooms a two-edged sword

[Kire]

Politicians find chat rooms a two-edged sword
Monday, September 27, 2004
BY MIKE FRASSINELLI
Star-Ledger Staff

If the Internet chat room is the watercooler of the 21st century, some New Jersey elected officials are busy filling up their paper cones.

Aside from the tried and true ways of communicating at ribbon cuttings and rubber-chicken dinners, mayors and other town officials are increasingly turning to chat rooms to connect with constituents, explain decisions and get feedback.


"No elected official at any level of government deals directly with the public more often than the mayor," said William Pikolycky, mayor of Woodbine Borough in Cape May County and president of the New Jersey Conference of Mayors. "And, as we're seeing with the mayors who are using chat rooms on the Internet, it's not a responsibility we run from, but rather, one we embrace."

"Bobbo78," also known as Harry Zikas Jr., the mayor of Alpha in Warren County, can be found on the NJ.com forums, responding to such questions as whether a councilman illegally used his influence to build a curb, what the requirements are for building an in-ground pool, how to help a family whose young children died in a fire, and occasionally, getting testy over criticisms directed at him.

More: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1096260698323880.xml