Candidates’ Twitter use in legal doubt
2018 ELECTION
As political campaigns increasingly turn to social media to get their message out, the Twitter activities of two Ohio gubernatorial candidates — a Democrat and a Republican — are generating legal questions seldom if ever raised.
In response to questions from The Dispatch, state Auditor Dave Yost’s office said it’s improper — but not illegal — for Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, a Democrat, to prominently feature her campaign Twitter account on the official Dayton mayor’s website.
The situation of Republican Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor is more murky. She set up a political Twitter account in early 2010 when she was on the ticket with Gov. John Kasich. But once taking office, she used that personal account for official lieutenant governor’s business.
However, since she launched her own gubernatorial effort in February 2017, that account — which now has more than 7,300 followers — is being used by her campaign. She set up a new Twitter account to serve as her official governmental site. It has fewer than 1,500 followers.
Most public officeholders do the opposite: keep the official site, and set up a separate campaign Twitter account.
“We sought legal counsel in efforts to follow what we believe the law requires, that official accounts cannot use political things on it, but personal accounts can share government information on it,” said campaign spokesman Todd Olsen.
Legal or not? Yost’s office was asked.
“It’s an emerging area of law and we cannot offer an opinion,” said Ben Marrison, the auditor’s director of communications.
A Dispatch reader raised the issue that Whaley, one of four Democrats vying for governor, is posting tweets on the city website that seem to amount to electioneering.
For example, Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney tweeted his endorsement of Whaley for governor. In response, Whaley thanked him, writing on July 21, “Thanks for your support Mayor @ lmfeeney! I look forward to working with all our local leaders to move Ohio forward.”
Other tweets announce trade union endorsements of her bid for governor. One on July 18 said “Dayton Building & Construction Trades Council Endorses Nan Whaley for Governor. Represents more than 20,000 in SW OH.”
Another, on June 15, said, “I’m honored to have the endorsement of @IUE_CWAUnion, whose members reflect the talented workforce we have in Ohio.”
In some circumstances, such tweets seem to violate a provision in the Ohio Revised Code that prohibits certain municipalities from using official communication channels to support or oppose candidates for elective office. But as a home-rule city, Dayton is not subject to that law, Marrison said.
“However, it is inappropriate to use a taxpayer-supported website to promote a political campaign,” Marrison said. “The prudent step would be for a public official to either remove the Twitter feed from the government webpage or to segregate the political social-media activity from the official activity. It is the practice taken by most public officials running for political office.”
Whaley’s campaign responded not by defending the legality of her actions, but by accusing Yost of playing politics.
“As we all know, Yost is competing to be the most partisan, political auditor in the history of this state,” Faith Oltman, Whaley’s spokeswoman, said in an email.
She said that the state auditor’s page has tweets from Yost’s Twitter account for his campaign for Ohio attorney general. The tweets, however, deal with auditor’s business — not the election.
Marrison dismissed the Whaley campaign’s accusations.
“Let’s set the record straight: This office responded to a reporter’s question about a political Twitter feed being published on a government website, and we offered an opinion,” Marrison said. “That’s not playing politics.”