Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell is on AskThem
Today we’re proud to unveil two answered questions on AskThem from Austin elected officials!
Council Member Mike Martinez on texting & driving
Mayor Lee Leffingwell on public health
One of the major reasons we’re excited to be back down in Austin for South by Southwest interactive is that Austin city government has really stepped up to participate on AskThem.io.
Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell and (counting him) five of seven Austin city council members are signed up as verified on AskThem, to respond to popular questions in an open public forum.
With the conference in full melee, we have a great opportunity to showcase how AskThem works for online public dialogue:
We have our first answer, from Council Member Mike Martinez, to a question on texting while driving. Our second answered question in Austin is from none other than Mayor Lee Leffingwell, to a question on public health.
Answered question by Mayor Leffingwell on AskThem
Spread the word – AskThem is working for continual communication with city governments. Thanks to Council Member Martinez & Mayor Leffingwell for leading the way in responsive and accountable government. Thank you as well to Austin Council Members Cole, Riley & Spelman for agreeing to participate on our non-profit platform – we’ll get answers from you soon, at your convenience! – and warm invitations to Council Members Morrison & Tovo to join them and run the table, it’s free & open to everyone. Such a simple first step towards more participation in our representative democracy, especially locally.
You can ask questions or start petitions to any Texas elected official on our open-source, open-data platform – including U.S. Senators Cornyn & Cruz, 36 Texas U.S. representatives, Gov. Rick Perry, 32 Texas state senators, 150 Texas state reps, and many more.
You can find all your elected officials – down to your city council members – by clicking “Ask your own Question” on our homepage and simply entering your address. AskThem is the only open-source website for locating everyone who represents you and asking them a question, then pushing for a response, to raise your issues and community priorities.
City Council Member Mike Martinez was first in Austin to answer a question on AskThem.
Don’t forget, you can use AskThem to question and petition any verified Twitter account, such as @VisitAustin or government agencies across the state. Let us know how you’re using AskThem – hit us up on micropublishing at @AskThemPPF or our FB page.
Last, ask a question to Glenn Greenwald before his live Q&A tmw here at the SxSW conference, and our non-profit advisor Micah Sifry will really raise some of the questions to him. It’s an amazing opportunity.
Add’l scene report: re-introduced myself (in a manner) to Dan Harmon on the street; had huevos con machacado at Curra’s and Torchy’s breakfast tacos; no Ironworks BBQ yet; saw Sgt. Slaughter, or his official double.