None of the people who work at Video One are experts in politics. Instead, we work with video editing to help businesses engage consumers. But as both citizens and videographers, we know how to judge political candidates. And in light of Mayor Daley’s retirement announcement, we think it’s important to pursue his job. Not because Video One would be particularly good at it. It’s just that no one else is doing it right.
Granted, the elections are more than 100 days away, and only a handful of people announced their mayoral ambitions. Though there are much more potential candidates than actual ones, it’s still never too early to start campaigning.
Barack Obama’s presidential campaign revealed how helpful the Internet video production was in a political campaign. He used multiple websites, Twitter, and YouTube very effectively. To this day, Obama’s YouTube channel is updated on a regular basis with speeches and clips. Through this YouTube channel, the president has created a platform that can engage all people. Other politicians should take note of this.
So far, five people have announced their plans to run for mayor. Only two of them have YouTube channels, but both are lackluster. Below is a breakdown of some confirmed and potential candidates in the upcoming mayoral election, and an evaluation of their web presence.
Miguel del Valle (Confirmed)
- Chicago’s first Latino City Clerk, and a former State Senator.
- Has a YouTube page with one video production from his 2009 City Clerk campaign. The video is in Spanish.
William “Dock” Walls (Confirmed)
- Lost a mayoral run in 2007.
- Was going to run for Governor, until Daley’s retirement announcement.
- Has a YouTube channel for his gubernatorial campaign, but it hasn’t been updated with content in months.
- In one video, Walls mentions his social media outlets. But they seem to have been shut down.
Jay Stone (Confirmed)
- Local hypnotist.
- No YouTube channels, only a website.
- In the political timeline of of Stone’s website, it infers that he could have prevented September 11.
- He also takes some responsibility for keeping the Olympics out of Chicago.
- No other social media campaigns.
Christopher Cooper (Confirmed)
- A Civil Rights attorney in Chicago.
- Has a Facebook and a website.
- No YouTube channel, nor does he appear in any other YouTube video editing.
Fredrick K. White (Confirmed)
- A citizen candidate.
- No YouTube channel or any other social media in use. Has an interview available on Blip.TV
- Has a website that looks like a cheap blog.
- White has some strange and unique ideas to save money for the city, but he’s not doing nearly enough to engage potential voters.
Tom Dart (Not Confirmed)
- The current Cook County Sheriff.
- Popular with voters in early polls.
- Has the most active YouTube channel of the potential candidates.
- Although his channel has a number of taped press conferences, there is no video production of him actually engaging the viewers. He’s off to a decent start, but needs to do more to let voters know who he is. Assuming he decided to run.
James M. Houlihan (Not Confirmed)
- The current Cook County Assessor.
- His office has a YouTube channel, but it only has one video-a news clip from 2008.
- There are videos of him on the Voice 24/7 YouTube channel, but they have no sound.
- He has one of the most popular sites in Cook County.
Edward Burke (Not Confirmed)
- Current Chicago Alderman.
- No channel. Only some videos of him speaking at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
- These videos only have a relative few views, but that will probably change if he decides to run.
- These videos could prove valuable in telling voters of Burke’s background and expertise, but they’re probably going to be more popular among fans of his book.
Scott Waguespack (Not Confirmed)
- Current Chicago Alderman.
- Vocal enemy of Mayor Daley.
- Has a YouTube channel from 2007 that was used during his Alderman campaign.
- The videos there are using the right principles for citizen engagement, but they have poor production values or are just taken from news programs.
Although this is just a small pool of all the potential candidates in the election, they leave something to be desired. Notice that Tom Dart, an early winner in a recent mayoral poll has the best YouTube video editing presence. This can’t be just coincidental. Although he’s the Cook County Sheriff, people know who he is. He’s public, vocal, and recognizable.
Dart may not choose to run for mayor, but looking for ways to connect with citizens is a sign of a good politician. Dart might not be a good mayor, but he’s serious about his constituents. Though he’s no Obama (whatever that means), he’s started thinking about the Internet’s potential for helping his career. More politicians should start thinking about this.
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