During Public Meetings, Records Show Two Council Members Spend Hours on Twitter and Facebook

Update: This article has been updated to correctly attribute the video screen capture photo of Council member Chip Smith to Ward 5 resident Kevin Leeser.

by Patricia Lesko

Public records turned over to the The Ann Arbor Independent show that during a sample of four public meetings examined over the first three months of 2017, Ward 5 Council members Charles “Chip” Smith (D) and Chuck Warpehoski (D) collectively spent more than 14 hours on Facebook and Twitter. The two elected officials sent a combined 800 page requests to the two social media sites during the same four Council meetings. Warpehoski sent 396 page requests to Facebook during a Mar. 13, 2017 meeting at which budgets totaling more than $35 million were presented to Council by the Downtown Development Authority, the Pension Board and the LDFA, among other city-controlled entities.

Allegations of a Council member browsing social media during open meetings were made to The A2 Indy in March. The Mar. 16, 2017 City Council Special Work Session was dedicated to the Core Spaces proposal related to the sale and development of the publicly-owned Library Lot parcel. The session began with public comments. After the Special Work Session ended, a member of the public present at the meeting sent The Ann Arbor Independent a video that captured Council member Chip Smith (D-Ward 5) scrolling a Facebook page. The video shows Smith, who is running for re-election to City Council, navigating Facebook while Ann Arbor resident Christine Crockett stands at the podium speaking during public commentary. At the meeting, public speakers offered their views on whether Council should develop the Library Lot parcel and in the process vote to hand over 361 parking spaces in the Library Lot parking garage to Chicago developer Core Spaces for a period of 50 years.

The newspaper used FOIA to obtain Council member Smith’s city-owned computer’s web browsing history for Twitter and Facebook during four public meetings in 2017: Jan. 17, Feb. 21, March 13 and March 16. To determine whether Smith was the lone Council member browsing Twitter and Facebook during public meetings, The Ann Arbor Independent obtained Chuck Warpehoski’s (D-Ward 5) city-owned computer’s web browsing history for Twitter and Facebook during the same four public meetings.

Public records turned over to The Ann Arbor Independent confirmed that Ward 5 Council member Smith had, as the video showed, used his city-owned computer during a public meeting to browse social media as members of the public addressed Council. During the Mar. 16 public meeting, which lasted from 7:01 p.m. until 10:30 p.m., public records reveal that Chip Smith made 85 webpage requests to Facebook and Twitter. He browsed Twitter.com for 43 minutes. That browsing included 14 page requests to Twitter analytics and 12 page requests to a Twitter api page. Api is a tool which allows Twitter to communicate with third-party software—a campaign website, for example. Chip Smith also made ten page requests to Twitter syndication, a tool that helps Twitters users pay to promote content on and off Twitter.

The Twitter syndication and api page requests suggest Smith may have spent time during the March 16, 2017 public meeting exploring Twitter ads. When he ran for office in 2015, campaign finance records show that the Council member spent over $9,000 on Facebook ads promoting his campaign.

The use of government-owned property, as well as the use of paid time in office for campaign purposes are violations of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act (MCFA). If the Michigan Department of State is unable to correct the violation or prevent further violations informally, an administrative hearing determines whether a civil violation of the MCFA has occurred. Campaign finance violations may be referred to the Attorney General for the enforcement of criminal penalties.

During the Mar. 16, 2017 public meeting, Smith made four page requests to a Facebook statistics page and spent 10 minutes browsing there.

Along with Chip Smith, David Silkworth is running for Council in the August 2017 Ward 5 Democratic primary election. Silkworth’s reaction to the Council members’ browsing of Twitter and Facebook during public meetings was careful.

“Really?” said Silkworth, when apprised of Smith’s use of his city-owned computer to browse the social media sites during public meetings. After a moment Silkworth continued. “People come to Council to comment for a lot of important reasons. I think he [Smith] should be paying attention. That’s why Council members are there.”

City Council Embroiled in 2009 Open Meetings Act Lawsuit

This is not the first time City Council members have been caught “playing” on social media during public meetings. In 2009, the former Ann Arbor News published a series of articles about Council members’ inappropriate and allegedly illegal use of electronic communications during open meetings. The paper also published a scathing editorial. The newspaper, using FOIA, obtained Council members’ emails that showed local elected officials, including then newly-elected Ward 3 Council member Christopher Taylor (the city’s current mayor) allegedly rigging votes by email and insulting the public in secret emails exchanged during public commentary. Former Ward 3 Council member Leigh Greden in one email published by The Ann Arbor News in July 2009 tells his Council colleagues that he is so bored during a Council meeting he “spent the past hour playing on Facebook.” Greden initially refused to apologize for his actions and was subsequently voted out of office. Voters during exit polls cited the email scandal as the reason why Greden didn’t earn their votes. One of Greden’s final acts as a Council member was to vote for a resolution that tightened the city’s FOIA rules and made public records requests more expensive.

Taylor, a lawyer, complained that the newspaper had taken his email responses out of context, but never explained why he’d participated in the email exchanges which the newspaper characterized as “secret” and “embarrassing.”

The City of Ann Arbor subsequently faced an Open Meetings Act violation lawsuit as a result of the 2009 email scandal. City Attorney Postema settled the suit. Afterwards, Council rules were amended to end social media posts and private emails and texts by Council members during open meetings. Present Council rules do not forbid a Council member using their city-owned computer to view private email or browse shopping and/or social media sites during open meetings and public commentary.

“The Council Rules rules should be changed,” said Silkworth. “That’s pretty clear.”

Council members’ use of laptops during meetings prompted a 2008 letter to The Ann Arbor News. On April 8, 2008, Ann K. Dilcher wrote:

I always question the use of laptops by the council members. They often seem more tuned into their screens than the presentations from the floor. The members may be looking up important documents that relate to the discussion or may be e-mailing family – as an observer, you just don’t know. I think it would be good for them to consider going “topless.”

On March 29, 2009, LuAnne Bullington wrote in a letter to the editor published in The Ann Arbor News:

While citizens speak, these council members type away on their computers, whisper to each other and giggle like schoolchildren. Some council members don’t even look at the people speaking to them.

“Playing on Facebook” 2017

In 2013, The Ann Arbor Independent reported that Council member Chuck Warpehoski had violated Council rules by sending private emails and Tweets during public meetings. In April 2017, The Ann Arbor independent used FOIA to obtain the web browsing history of Warpehoski’s city-owned computer for the same four public meetings the web browsing history was obtained for Chip Smith’s city-owned computer.

Like Chip Smith, at the Mar. 16, 2017 Chuck Warpehoski browsed both Twitter and Facebook during the public meeting and public commentary, and for longer periods of time. Warpehoski sent 83 page requests total. His social media browsing included two hours on Twitter and Facebook. Warpehoski, like Smith, visited Twitter analytics and syndication pages. Warpehoski visited Twitter ads. Likewise, Warpehoski used his city-owned computer to surf Facebook.com, including Facebook analytics and statistics.

During the Mar. 13 and Mar. 16, 2017 public meetings, Council member Chuck Warpehoski sent 30 page requests to Facebook chat. Chat is a private messenging platform provided by Facebook for its users. Public records indicate that he established multiple chat connections which lasted 59 minutes.

Council member Smith’s web browsing history for the four meetings examined revealed no use of Facebook chat.

Chatting on Facebook is a violation of Council rules which state that members may not send electronic messages during open meetings. Should Warpehoski’s Facebook chat messages include discussions with other Council members about meeting agenda items or votes, such “secret” discussions and/or deliberations could also be violations of the Michigan Open Meetings Act. The Ann Arbor Independent has filed a FOIA to obtain the text of Council member Warpehoski’s Facebook chat messages sent during the Mar. 13 and Mar. 16 public meetings.

Browsing Facebook and Twitter During Budget Discussions

The Mar. 13, 2017 Council Work Session lasted from 7 p.m.-9:22 p.m. At that meeting, Council members listened to budget presentations from representatives of the LDFA, Downtown Development Authority, Pension Board and Housing. There was also a presentation by city administrator Craig Hupy concerning utility rates. While the various individuals discussed raising water and sewer rates, continuing to fund the LDFA with almost $3 million in tax-increment financing money diverted from the Ann Arbor Public Schools and public libraries, while the DDA’s Executive Director pitched an increase to the DDA’s budget, and a report concluded the city’s employee pension system is seriously underfunded, Smith and Warpehoski browsed Twitter and Facebook.

Warpehoski made 396 page requests on Facebook and Twitter during the budgeting work session. Those requests included 32 page requests to Facebook pixel. Pixel is a Facebook tool that, when installed on a website, allows the user to track Facebook interactions and conversions (redirects from a company’s website to its Facebook page, for example). He also made 18 page requests to Facebook chat. Over a 62 minute period, Warpehoski was connected to Twitter analytics and made four page requests.

Public records show that Chip Smith made a total of 94 page requests during the Mar. 13 budget meeting. Using his city-owned computer and the city’s network, he was connected to Facebook for two hours and to Twitter for 51 minutes.  He browsed Twitter syndication and analytics, Facebook.com and Facebook statistics and graphs.

When contacted, both Smith and Warpehoski declined to comment.