Dead tweeting the Portland mayoral debate

The hip new way to cover big political events these days is called “live tweeting” — sending out short, often (one hopes) pithy, bulletins on Twitter every couple minutes or so during the debate, the convention, the concession, etc. The few times I’ve bothered to read this type of “reporting” I’ve found it frustratingly fragmented, tedious and trivial — just like politics itself these days. It’s basically quoting sound bites with sound bites.

That said, I can appreciate Twitter’s potential to make boring political events moderately more exciting and entertaining, if not informative, for voters. For example, the first debate between the three guys running for mayor of Portland this fall, held at the old Mechanics Hall downtown on Wednesday night, was a pretty sleepy affair. There were no rhetorical fireworks, no zingers, no put-downs. The biggest laugh happened when Mayor Mike Brennan mistakenly referred to challenger Tom MacMillan as “Dave.” (He apparently confused this Green Party mayoral candidate with the one he beat four years ago, City Councilor Dave Marshall.) The most shocking revelation was Ethan Strimling’s admission that he dabbled with arson as a pre-teen. (OK, that is pretty shocking.)

So here’s my take on the first mayoral debate, delivered in the Twitter style of political “reportage” many hours after the event took place. I call it “dead tweeting.”

7:01 p.m.: Good turnout tonight, despite biblical flooding earlier in the day — clear sign of God’s displeasure with the three liberals on the ballot.

7:02: Mayor Brennan wearing a powder blue button-down with rolled-up sleeves. #DemocratFashion

7:03: MacMillan wearing jacket and tie and old sneakers — is this his first debate or First Communion? Help, @TimGunn!

7:04: Ethan very proud of his work for nonprofit LearningWorks, yet now trying to leave that job for third time in seven years.

7:15: MacMillan voices support for rent control. Says planning board too cozy with developers and should be elected, not appointed.

7:16: MacMillan backs $15/hour minimum wage. Would ban landlords from checking potential tenants’ credit. (Floodwaters inexplicably rising again.)

7:20: Ethan: “I don’t agree with the governor on the time of day.” Wants five more housing projects for homeless built citywide. #RainingFrogs

7:40: All three candidates profess love of parks. Brennan only candidate who tried to sell one (Congress Square) to a hotel developer. #Trump2016

7:45: MacMillan strongly suggests Portland cops engage in racial profiling. Even his far-left challengers won’t go there. #BlackLivesMatter

7:50: Brennan also alone in support of ordinance banning panhandlers from medians. Begging for votes with signs in medians not a campaign issue.

8:00: MacMillan unexpectedly voices opposition to use of eminent domain for Franklin Street redesign plan. (Floodwaters mysteriously start to ebb.)

8:05: Brennan answers question about sustainability by promoting a “health informatics cluster,” presumably at city’s new Technology Park.

8:05: The large, and largely empty, Portland Technology Park, off I-95 near Westbrook, is a textbook example of unsustainable sprawl. #JustSayin’

8:09: Ethan says voters worried about “divided government,” criticizes Brennan for too many 5-4 council votes.

8:10: Ethan’s campaign highlights his endorsement by four of the eight current councilors. #Strim2015, #DivideAndConquer

8:15: “My job is not to be a career politician,” says MacMillan. Voters likely to agree.

8:17: Ethan concerned cities like Sanford are “getting ahead of” Portland with broadband Internet initiative. Has apparently never been to Sanford.

8:21: Brennan: “I think the council has functioned well. … We are not a divided city.” #Kumbaya

8:30: The first debate is over. Frog storm and flooding have also subsided. Campaign now begins in earnest. May God have mercy on us all.

Chris Busby

About Chris Busby

Chris Busby is editor and publisher of The Bollard, a monthly magazine about Portland. He writes a weekly column for the BDN.