Direct line to the top

Mayor Bill Peduto excels at Twitter communication

You don’t need Bill Peduto’s cell phone number to get the Pittsburgh mayor’s ear. A timely tweet (in the evening) on a timely topic (one recent favorite is the mayor’s support of local gun control legislation) could elicit a direct, personal yet public response. Just be ready to be schooled, including on spelling errors, if you’ve made any.

The mayor told Post-Gazette reporter Ashley Murray he’s been making an evening hobby of sorts verbally sparring on Twitter — his way of “just trying to keep a conversation going.” The communication can get salty and the mayor likes to pepper his retorts with a bit of “sarcasm” — the mayor’s word.

Some have raised an eyebrow at Mr. Peduto’s sometimes blunt, sometimes wry repartee. But for his personal account’s 96,000 or so followers and counting, it’s the kind of one-onone communication a citizen doesn’t usually get with a big-city mayor.

Mr. Peduto is riffing on the tune played by President Donald Trump, who has set a new standard in the use of social media — especially Twitter — to communicate directly with constituents. Unlike the president, who uses the platform to share his pronouncements on any number of topics, the mayor is engaged in actual back-and-forth with individuals.

The mayor accesses multiple Twitter accounts, with his staff running the official ones. But the mayor is in control of his personal account: @billpeduto.

Mr. Peduto is making it work for him. He’s giving the facts, as he sees them. He’s sharing a bit of his wit and personality with the voters. He’s demonstrating that his constituents’ views — both for him and against him — are being heard. And it can be done while wearing a robe and house slippers.