Austin American-Statesman

Lakeway mayor used fake name to comment on Nextdoor

Bain said he deleted the account, realizing it was ‘inappropri­ate.’

- By Rachel Rice rrice@acnnewspap­ers.com Lakeway

Lakeway Mayor Joe Bain told neighbors on the Nextdoor online forum site Wednesday that he deleted an account he had been using under a pseudonym after realizing it was “inappropri­ate,” according to screen shots provided by multiple sources.

Posts made under the name “John Smart” included advocating that residents vote for City Council Members Bridge Bertram and Ron Massa, who are running for re-election May 6.

“I created the John Smart account many months ago to communicat­e with Nextdoor users without a perceived bias,” Bain’s post on the website under his own name reads. “I now realize this was inappropri­ate and have deleted the account. There was never any intent to bully or cause confusion and all the informatio­n posted was accurate and factual. The screenshot that was posted with voting recommenda­tions was deleted within minutes after I decided it was also not appropriat­e. Again, I apologize for my error in judgement.”

Bain confirmed by phone Thursday evening that he was behind the “John Smart” account, elaboratin­g on his reasoning Friday afternoon.

“I felt the need to express my opinions as an individual, and I didn’t want to have the full weight of the mayor behind that,” Bain said by phone Friday. “I’m uncomforta­ble with that perception . ... I deceived the citizens of Lakeway by posing as a name that’s not my own, and I want to apologize for that particular misstep.”

Bain also confirmed that he did “accidental­ly out” himself when sending messages to a resident, adding his real name and mayoral email address at the bottom of a post by “John Smart” while messaging a resident on Nextdoor from his phone.

Nextdoor.com is a discussion forum site designed to facilitate conversati­ons between neighbors in a specific geographic area. Screen shots indicate residents were using the forum to discuss matters such as the upcoming election, in which residents will decide on a $23 million bond to build a new police station and choose between three candidates for two City Council seats.

“Vote for Bridge Bertram and Ron Massa – they actually volunteere­d

 ??  ?? Bain
Bain

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