Keeping Tabs—Locals to Watch in 2015: #a2council

Julie Weatherbee—U-M IT Systems Trainer, wiles away Monday evenings on Twitter commenting on City Council mmetings.

Julie Weatherbee is, in turns, clever, funny, acerbic, rude and politically nerdy. Twice monthly, she watches City Council meetings via televised CTN livestream and Live Tweets the proceedings. She is joined by a growing group of regulars who use the Twitter hashtag #a2council to categorize their Tweets into what might best be described as a “folder” for anyone who uses the same hashtag to read and respond to on Twitter.

Weatherbee has 1,148 followers on Twitter and generates dozens of Tweets during a typical Council meeting. She has her favorite Council members, and her Tweets are by no means meant to present the proceedings objectively (though she often does by reporting voting results). It’s a mixture of pure electronic street theater and public input about local government at its best.

During the Dec. 1 Council meeting, Weatherbee Tweeted: “Decided to make turkey soup during C-1. Too hard to tweet about zoning….#a2council.” In commenting on the Nov. 17 meeting, she Tweeted about Ann Arbor resident and former School Board member Katherine Griswold who was speaking before Council: “Hey, it is #libraryhater! She’s done something with her hair. #a2council.”

One need not have a Twitter account to view Tweets with the #a2countil hashtag, but an account is required to participate in the online discussions. #a2council is a local hashtag to watch.