Lessons in Social Media for Ald. Deb Mell

By Kevin Robinson in News on Nov 1, 2014 3:30PM

It's an election year and voters are seriously pissed off at what's going on in the city. Let's say you're a Chicago alderman who was appointed to your position after your dad announced his retirement.

Maybe it's not such a good idea to make fun of a progressive, reform-minded candidate for mayor who's popular in your ward. Maybe it's not a good idea to make those jokes in a public forum (like Twitter) where stuff tends to take on a life of its own, and never, ever goes away. Maybe, after you've been called out by your constituents, cutting and pasting "sorry you were offended" isn't such a good look for you.

Look, Deb, I know you and Patti think you can get away with anything you want in this city because you're connected. And while you're not going to be sent to federal prison for an arrogant tweet, maybe you should keep in mind that your tweeting might get picked up by a city-wide blog. So here's a lesson in social media for all of the current and would-be elected officials in Chicago: don't make arrogant jokes in public—especially when most people in the city already see you as the entitled, appointed brat kid of a former alderman.