News release from the Paula Hughes campaign:
Republican frontrunner responds to Henry criticism
Paula Hughes Continues to Point Out Wasteful City ExpendituresFormer Allen County Council President and leading Republican candidate for Mayor of Fort Wayne Paula Hughes responded to criticism from the Henry campaign and its defense of the $72,000 social media contract Fort Wayne entered into last Fall.
Mayor Henry’s campaign claimed Paula Hughes “doesn’t understand the scope and potential of digital communications.”
“I think this social media contract’s ‘scope and potential’ is clear given the results of the online experiment with Feedback Fort Wayne,” Paula Hughes said. “With leadership and foresight, we could have actually allowed for an open dialogue with Fort Wayne citizens instead of being fodder for late-night comedians.”
On February 9th, Mayor Henry claimed the attention “hasn’t cost us a cent.” Of course, that simply wasn’t true. Mayor Henry entered into a deal with Carolyn Grisko & Associates of Chicago to implement a ‘specialized marketing’ plan for Fort Wayne’s social media. That deal cost $72,000 just under the $75,000 limit for city council approval.
“Mayor Henry realized that city council wouldn’t approve a contract with no vision for a dignified social media plan, so he kept it under the $75,000 threshold,” Hughes said. “I hate to think what this firm would have charged the city for a responsible plan to manage our digital communications.”
Paula Hughes has been critical of this social media debacle from the beginning. In November of 2010, then County Council President Hughes penned a letter to Mayor Henry offering help to the city save money and construct a good plan for Fort Wayne and Allen County. Mayor Henry responded by hastily unveiling feedbackfortwayne.org.
“I wish Mayor Henry would have taken my advice to begin with,” Hughes said. “Now, we have wasted $72,000 and disenfranchised citizens because their feedback is being ignored. Fort Wayne needs a proven conservative leader and will have it when I am sworn in as Mayor next January.”
Paula Hughes for Mayor website
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