Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio is adopting the practice of communicating directly to constituents through social media sites in reaction to “a clear personal bias” of Arizona Republic reporter Dustin Gardiner. Using social media and avoiding “fake news” was popularized by now President Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign cycle.
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According to DiCiccio, Gardiner invited the Councilman to answer his most recent questions in 100 words or less. DiCiccio declined the offer and alleged that Gardiner “has exhibited a clear personal bias opposed to the positions I have taken on the Council. I have previously made clear that I will not respond to his inquiries. However, as many of you have also pointed out, this can limit some of the information you, the public, receives. Since I am committed to transparency, I am answering and posting his questions and my answers here, unedited, for all of you to see….”
Things heated up this summer when Gardiner focused on claims made by DiCiccio’s challenger in the upcoming election, Kevin Patterson, that someone from the DiCiccio camp contacted Patterson’s employer with “concerns” about his candidacy. Banner Health would not confirm or deny Patterson’s claim. Sarah Boggan, Public Relations Director for Banner Health would only issue a simple statement: “While we respect those employees who get involved in their local governments, we choose not to comment or become involved in political campaigns.”
According to the Phoenix News Times, the Arizona Republic was unable to prove Patterson’s claim.
For his part, DiCiccio said in a Facebook post that it would be “insanity to think anyone would respond to anonymous, second-hand claims in the first place.” DiCiccio then said Gardiner “now appears to be acting as the spokesperson for the opposing campaign.”
There are a lot of people who agree with DiCiccio’s assessment of Gardiner and the media in general. While DiCiccio was trying to bring attention to the disastrous Sheraton Hotel deal, the media focused on DiCiccio’s decision to block trolls.
According to DiCiccio’s supporters, he has done a better job of exposing the City Council’s questionable financial decisions than Gardiner. They say Gardiner focuses on fluff like DiCiccio’s Facebook practices and ignores reckless spending by the City Council majority.
Whatever the case may be, it is clear that DiCiccio’s Facebook “friends” approve of his new communication strategy. Donors appear to approve too. According to Gardiner’s latest article on the race, “DiCiccio has raised more than $567,400 for his re-election campaign, according his latest filing. Patterson raised a paltry $27,700 in the last period.”
Whether DiCiccio’s strategy will work with voters or not will not be known until Election Day.