As Washington D.C. looks to further establish itself as a center for technological innovation, isn’t it fair to ask that our candidates and elected officials maintain a professional online presence? In reviewing the websites and social media accounts of candidates for the vacant at-large seat on the Washington D.C. City Council, is there anything you see (or don’t see) that sways your vote one way or another?

Alan Page: http://alanpagedc.blogspot.com/

The only Blogspot site of the candidates, the site is very basic but it gets by with clear navigation and good content. Donation button links off-site to Paypal.

Twitter:  @AlanPageDC 1,970 Tweets, 287 Followers
Facebook: Unknown

Brian Weaver: http://bryanweaverdc.com/

A clean and concise WordPress site with simple navigation and plenty of content. Donation links off-site to Act Blue. Twitter feed is featured on the site but no link to Facebook. Bonus points being the only candidate I have seen who is running Google Ads for his own name as well as his competitors!  

Facebook: 604 Fans (Most of any candidate)
Twitter: @BryanWeaverDC 1,811 Tweets, 1,017 Followers (Most of any candidate)

Dorothy Douglas: http://www.dorothydouglas.com/

This might be by far, the worst candidate website I have ever seen. Although   campaigns for local office are by nature low-budget operations, you can still have something that looks professional and is informative without spending a great deal. As local governments increasingly turn to offering services online, anyone who votes for Ms. Douglas should be very concerned that according to this website:  “our company” is located at  123 Main St, Anytown, MA.”

Arkan Hale: http://www.arkanfordccouncil.com/

A good looking, simple WordPress site. Problem is that the blog has not been updated since March 5th. Not even a reminder that today is election day!

Facebook: 157 Fans
Twitter: @ArkanHaileforDC  23 Tweets, 38 Followers

Joshua Lopez: http://joshualopez2011.com/

Would be a decent WordPress site if not for the numerous coding errors and cumbersome 2nd level navigation on the issues, donation and volunteer pages. Last update was posted April 21st. Donation form uses both PayPal and a custom page powered that is ruined by errors in how the form is displaying fields.

Facebook: 150 Fans
Twitter: @JoshuaLopez2011 1,143 Tweets, 476 Followers

Patrick Mara: http://patrickmara.com/

As the sole Republican in the election, Mr. Mara represents his party well with a busy, but functional and professional website. Donations are handled by a customized Piryx page, links to social media channels are abundant and  there is plenty of content. Mara is one of only three candidates with an email signup box prominently displayed on the site.

Facebook: 437 Fans. Bonus points for having a custom landing tab!
Twitter: @patmara 1,108 Tweets, 824 Followers.

Sekou Biddle: http://sekoubiddle.com/atlarge/

One of the more advanced WordPress sites of the bunch, includes a custom template from Pagelines. The only site I have noticed that includes an RSS feed.  Although there is a form to volunteer, I could not locate a way to subscribe to emails. Donations are sent off-site to Paypal.

Facebook: 292 Fans
Twitter: @sekoubiddle 265 Tweets, 592 Followers

Tom Brown: http://www.whytombrown.com/

Overall a good site site and only the 3rd one I have seen with an email signup box on the homepage. Donations also link off-site to Paypal.

Facebook: Like Mr. Orange, the campaign decided to create a group instead of a page, however Mr. Brown does have a respectable 378 members.
Twitter: @tombrownyes 169 Tweets, 55 Followers

Vincent Orange: http://www.orangeatlarge.com/

Powered by Salsa, Mr. Orange has the best campaign site of all the candidates. All the features work well and the site has a clean design that is content rich and easy to navigate. Also to his credit, Mr. Orange has the longest and most detailed “Issues” section of any candidate in the race.

However in the campaign flyer I received today,  Mr. Orange’s campaign highlights his Washington Post Endorsement- from the 2010 election. While this is an interesting tactical choice, the obvious intent is to confuse voters into thinking that  the Washington Post has endorsed Mr. Orange for this election, when in fact they endorsed Patrick Mara.

Facebook: Using an “old-school” Facebook group, the campaign is posting lots of content but getting very little engagement. 343 total members.
Twitter: Although there is not a link on the website, it appears Mr. Orange does have a Twitter account @VincentOrangeDC which has sent 138 Tweets and has 235 Followers.