There are numerous laws which make it illegal for governors to use taxpayer resources to promote or fund their political campaigns. This typically means that sitting governors can’t make fundraising calls from their official offices, they can't send fundraising appeals on state letterhead, they can't commit quid pro quo appointments for campaign cash, and so on and so forth.
The laws are different in every state, but the spirit remains the same.
Based on these common sense ethics laws, it would also be against the law to misuse a taxpayer funded office in order to grow a campaign email list, raise campaign cash online, or increase friends/fans/followers of political campaign social networks. Anyone who has purchased Facebook ads to increase fans or bought email lists can attest that they have legitimate and significant costs.
There are currently seven sitting governors, five Republican governors, one Republican turned Independent governor, and one Democratic governor, who are breaking the law by supporting their political campaign's online efforts with taxpayer-funded resources.
The Republican offenders are Florida Governor Rick Scott, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Utah Governor Gary Herbert. Rhode Island's Republican turned Independent Governor Lincoln Chaffee and the Democratic Governor of Hawaii, Neil Abercrombie, have also crossed this line. A few other governors are close, more details on them are included below.
For the past few cycles, it's been a requirement for successful political campaigns to utilize social networks. And over the past few years, many sitting governors have also begun to drag their state offices into the 21st century by creating official Office of the Governor social networking accounts. These accounts are managed by taxpayer-funded employees and are essentially an arm of the communications departments in the official office. This practice, when done correctly, is completely above the board.
Many of the Governors who were newly elected in 2010, and some who were previously elected, had to make a choice when they got into office – would they create brand new social networking accounts for the official office, or just "transition" their campaign accounts. It must have been a tough sell to convince some of the governors that they should go from tens of thousands of online supporters to a blank slate, because many of them made this so-called transition. This decision to transition a campaign account into an official account is seemingly legal if they cease promoting their political campaign, and if they never switch the account back to its original political campaign status (essentially they won't have a political social networking account during their re-election campaign, or will be required to start from scratch, which is a whole different can of worms). If a governor attempted to switch an official social networking account back to promoting their political campaign, the thousands of fans they acquired during the administration could be considered an in-kind taxpayer-funded contribution to the political campaign, which would be against the law.
If a winning candidate decides to transition their campaign account into an official account (which appears to be a terrible idea), they need to make certain that the account is scrubbed of all references to their political campaign. This scrubbing would certainly need to include removing email acquisition forms that are connected to the political campaign, direct appeals for donations to the political campaign and removing links to the political campaign websites. This goes doubly so when the transitioned social network is prominently linked from the official office of the governor website, which is paid for by taxpayers.
A detailed breakdown of all 50 governors' social networks, with numerous links, is attached below. Some of the most egregious highlights include:
- Republican Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi links to a hybrid campaign/official Facebook page from the official Mississippi governor's office website. The page opens to a tab asking visitors to donate to "Haley's PAC," his political action committee.
- Republican Governor Rick Scott of Florida links to his transitioned campaign Facebook page from the official Florida governor's office website. The page opens to a tab asking people to sign up for what appears to be his campaign email list. He also has tabs to endorse his political campaign and several links to his campaign website.
- Republican Governor Terry Branstad of Iowa links to his transitioned campaign Facebook page from the official Iowa governor's office website. Until just a few days ago, the page opened to a tab asking visitors to sign up for campaign email updates. He continues to have a tab on the page asking people to donate their Facebook status and profile picture to his political campaign.
- Democratic Governor Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii is linking to several campaign social networks from the official Hawaii governor's office website. He appears to have not even attempted to transition these campaign accounts into official accounts. He has also made the decision to upload official office of the governor videos into his campaign YouTube account, which is certainly unconventional, to put it nicely.
- Republican turned Independent Governor Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island is linking to numerous campaign social networks from the official Rhode Island governor's office website. On his transitioned Facebook page, he has a tab/app to make contributions to his political campaign, and the other accounts have countless links and references to his campaign.
Kansas --- Republican Governor Sam Brownback's
official website links to a
new official Facebook page and a
new official YouTube account. The official website is linking to
his campaign Twitter account, but he appears to have "transitioned" it into an official account.
Florida --- Republican Governor Rick Scott's official website links to campaign social networks, and he is one of the most blatant violators of using taxpayer resources to promote his political campaign. His official website links to a campaign Facebook page that opens immediately to an email submission form that appears to be controlled by his political campaign. His Facebook page also has a tab to "Endorse Rick" and several other tabs that remain from his political campaign. Scott's official website also links to hisbcampaign Youtube account and to his campaign Flickr account. The Twitter link on his official website originally went to a nonexistent twitter account, until I registered www.twitter.com/gov_rickscott and started tweeting about their social media fails (they switched it soon after but still have a Twitpic account with my handle, which opens the door to changing their profile picture on places like reel.ly). To his credit, Governor Scott's official website is now linking to his official Twitter account, which he created after the election. He held a Twitter town hall on January 20th to help increase his followers, and is up to a respectable 7,654 followers (as of 2/5/11).
Iowa –-- Republican Governor Terry Branstad's official website recently removed some of their links to campaign social networks for both himself and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds. The official website still links to Branstad's campaign Facebook page. Up until a few days ago, his FB page opened immediately with a tab/app that asked visitors to sign up for his campaign email list (see screen shot here). It's unclear how many new email signups Branstad's political campaign received by linking directly to this email signup app from the official website. He has since removed this email-signup tab, but has kept a tab asking people to donate their Facebook status to his political campaign. Branstad is also linking to his campaign Twitter account that has a disclaimer noting it is "the official Twitter account for Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad" and yet it continues to have a prominent link to his campaign website. The official website is now linking to Branstad's official Flickr account and official YouTube account. Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds has links on the official website that direct to her campaign Facebook account, which is littered with pictures from the campaign trail, and her campaign Twitter account, which includes a link to their campaign website. She also has a link to her official Flickr account.
Mississippi –-- Republican Governor Haley Barbour's official website is hosted on a .com address, but it's linked to from the Mississippi government's official .gov website. Barbour is egregiously promoting his Political Action Committee and political campaign with taxpayer resources. Barbour official website links to a campaign Facebook page that opens directly to a tab asking for contributions to "Haley's PAC." It's unclear how much money Haley has raised for his PAC by directly linking to this tab from his taxpayer funded website. Barbour does however link to an official YouTube account and an official Twitter account.
Rhode Island --- Republican turned Independent Governor Lincoln Chaffee's official website is one of the most interesting violators of using taxpayer resources to promote his political campaign. Chaffee links to a campaign Twitter account that has been dormant since November 15th, a campaign Facebook page that has been taken over by his fans and includes a tab to donate to his political campaign, a campaign Latino Myspace account (interesting choice to appeal to Latinos…unfortunately his only friend is Tom the MySpace creeper), and a campaign Hi5 account (with only one friend named Tony). The Hi5 account also has a link to his Spanish campaign website.
Tennessee --- Republican Governor Bill Haslam's official website links to his campaign Twitter account which was "transitioned" into an official account, and a campaign Facebook page aptly titled "TeamHaslam" that has also made the so-called transition. The FB page has a tab for his campaign YouTube videos and photos from his campaign. The info section on his FB page is littered with links to his campaign, transition and inauguration websites, which are only differentiated by their .com, .org, and .net domain names. His campaign made this extremely weird webpage if you can't remember which domain goes to the appropriate website (or inappropriate website in this instance). To his credit, Haslam's official website is also linking to a new official Flickr account.
Utah --- Republican Governor Gary R. Herbert's official website links to Herbert's personal Facebook profile (that's right, it's not a page so it's capped at 5k friends) which included numerous posts about his political campaign. The FB tab that opens from the official website also has a link to his campaign website. The official website also links to an official Twitter account and an official YouTube account.
Alaska --- Republican Governor Sean Parnell's official website links to a new official Facebook page (complete with disclaimer about using state resources for campaign or partisan purposes) an official Flickr account, and an official Twitter account.
Indiana --- Republican Governor Mitch Daniels's official website links to an official YouTube account.
Nebraska --- Republican Governor Dave Heineman's official website links to an official Facebook page, an official Twitter account, and an official Flickr account.
New Jersey --- Republican Governor Chris Christie's official website links to an official Twitter account (he has more responses to individual accounts than any other Governor), an official Facebook page, and an official YouTube account.
South Carolina --- Republican Governor Nikki Haley's official website links to an official Facebook page, official Twitter account and an official Flickr account. All of the social networks are very bland and clearly run by bureaucrats, which is surprising for a Governor who seems so close to bloggers. </ snark>
South Dakota --- Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard's official website links to a nearly empty official Twitter account, a broken Facebook link/page, and an official YouTube account with a single video uploaded about South Dakota tourism (Great Faces Great Places!).
Texas –-- Republican Governor Rick Perry's official website links to an official Facebook page, official Twitter account, official YouTube account and an official Picasa account.
Virginia --- Republican Governor Bob McDonnell's official website links to an official Facebook page, an official Twitter account, and an official Flickr account.
Wisconsin –-- Republican Governor Scott Walker's official website links to an official Facebook page and an official Twitter account.
Alabama --- Republican Governor Robert Bentley's official website is nearly devoid of any content, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that he doesn't link to social networks.
Arizona --- Republican Governor Jan Brewer's official website does not link to any social networks.
Georgia –-- Republican Governor Nathan Deal's official website does not link to any social networks.
Idaho –-- Republican Governor C.L. "Butch " Otter's official website does not link to any social networks. There is however a picture with about a dozen of Butch's family members all dressed alike – it looks like the setting of a Steven King movie.
Louisiana --- Republican Governor Bobby Jindal's official website does not link to any social networks.
Maine –-- Republican Governor Paul LePage's official website does not link to any social networks.
Michigan –-- Republican Governor Rick Snyder's official website does not link to any social networks.
Missouri –-- Republican Governor Jay Nixon's official website does not link to any social networks.
Nevada –-- Republican Governor Brian Sandoval's official website does not link to social networks.
New Mexico --- Republican Governor Susana Martinez's official website does not link to any social networks.
North Dakota --- Republican Governor Jack Dalrymple's official website does not link to any social networks.
Ohio –-- Republican Governor John Kasich has the worst official website out of every governor's office in the entire country. I'll even say it's NSFW. There are no links to social networks, but there is a horrible auto-play message (that can't be turned off) from Kasish and LG Mary Taylor. I'd go volunteer for Kasich's next Wall-Street financed campaign if their average visit length is over 30 seconds.
Oklahoma --- Republican Governor Mary Fallin's official website does not link to any social networks.
Pennsylvania –-- Republican Governor Tom Corbett's official website does not link to any social networks.
Wyoming –-- Republican Governor Matt Mead's official website does not link to any social networks.
Colorado –-- Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper's official website links to his campaign Facebook page that was transitioned into an official account. The page still has tabs for his campaign YouTube and campaign Flickr accounts. Hickenlooper also links to his essentially dormant campaign Twitter account, which also made the so-called transition, but a link to his campaign website remains. To his credit, Hickenlooper ran an entirely positive campaign (which included this hilarious video of him taking showers after every negative ad), so those accounts have information that is very similar to what you would find on an official website.
Hawaii –-- Democratic Governor Neil Abercrombie is clearly in need of someone informing him that state resources can't be used for his political campaign – I don't know where to start. His official website links to a campaign Facebook page that was "transitioned" to his official page, but it still contains links to his campaign website and a tab to donate to his political campaign. The official website also links to a "transitioned" campaign Twitter account that has his campaign wallpaper and a link to his campaign website, as well as a dormant campaign UStream account. Governor Abercrombie's campaign YouTube account has now apparently been "transitioned" to an official account, so there is a mix of campaign videos and his official videos as governor--- it's a big mess. The YouTube account also has a link to his political campaign. To his credit, Governor Abercrombie is now linking to an official Flickr account.
Connecticut –-- Democratic Governor Dannel P. Malloy's official website links to an official Facebook page, an official Twitter account, and an official YouTube account.
Deleware – Democratic Governor Jack Markell's official website links to an official Twitter account an official Facebook page, an official Flickr account, and an official iTunes podcast account. His staff has a one-of-a-kind process of tagging the messages so that Markell's fans know if it's a staffer or the Governor himself answering questions – very cool stuff.
Kentucky --- Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear's official website links to an official Facebook page, an official Flickr account, an official Twitter account, and an official YouTube account.
Maryland –-- Democratic Governor Martin O'Malley's official website does not link to any social networks; however the Maryland government's social media website has dozens of Facebook pages and Twitter accounts for various state agencies that help to provide breaking information. Many of these soc net accounts show how state agencies can effectively communicate with citizens. Maryland is a model for other states.
Massachusetts –-- Democratic Governor Deval Patrick's official website links to an official Twitter account, an official YouTube account and an official Flickr account.
Minnesota –-- Democratic Governor Mark Dayton's official website links to an official Twitter account, an official Facebook page, an official YouTube account, and an official Flickr account.
Montana –-- Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer's official website links to an official Facebook page and an official Twitter account.
New York –-- Democratic Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's official website links to an official Facebook page, an official Twitter account, and an official Flickr account.
North Carolina –-- Democratic Governor Bev Perdue's official website links to an official YouTube account, an official Facebook page, an official Flickr account, and an official Twitter account. On Governor Perdue's YouTube, Facebook and Twitter accounts, she includes a disclaimer saying, "Posts to this site, in connection with the transaction of public business, are subject to the NC Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties." I'm not a lawyer, but it seems like that would certainly be an interesting open records request!
Vermont –-- Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin's official website links to an official Facebook page, an official YouTube account, an official Twitter account, and an official Flickr account.
West Virginia --- Democratic Governor Earl Ray Tomblin's official website links to an official Facebook profile (it's maxed out on friends and absolutely jam packed with spam comments…big mess), and an official Flickr account.
Arkansas –-- Democratic Governor Mike Beebe's official website does not link to any social networks.
California --– Democratic Governor Jerry Brown's official website does not link to any social networks.
Illinois –-- Democratic Governor Pat Quinn's official website does not link to any social networks.
New Hampshire --– Democratic Governor John Lynch's official website does not link to any social networks.
Oregon --– Democratic Governor John Kitzhaber's official website does not link to any social networks.
Washington --- Democratic Governor Chris Gregoire's official website does not link to any social networks.
Disclaimer -- I'm not a lawyer, i'm just a caveman trying to understand the crazy tubes that connect this so-called internet and the dump trucks that keep getting stuck in it.
