In his recent defense of Gerry Friedel’s use of private social media pages to share his “Friedel Friday” videos, Gary Hoger misses the point.
Friedel can publish his communications to constituents on private social media pages without violating the constitutional rights of those who do not have access to those pages, so long as he ensures that these communications are also made available to those who are not members of those private groups.
If Friedel were truly committed to transparency he would publish the “Friedel Friday” videos on his public Facebook mayor’s page or You Tube, as he did prior to the election. The fact that the mayor has abandoned these platforms in favor of select private groups, underscores the belief of many that he is more interested in avoiding scrutiny and criticism than promoting transparency.
