Birthday card from city council member ??

[downtownguy25]

I checked my mail this evening and noticed a late birthday card. Opon closer inspection I noticed it was from my city council woman Pauline Medrano. :huhcld: First off, why is she sending birthday cards to people in her district and second how do they know when the day is? Anyone else get birthday cards from their council person?

[kenc]

Yes....My Birthday was 7/2 and I got a card from Ms. Medrano about 4 days later. I think birthdates are public information probably obtained from voter registration information.

[Lakewooder]

Next you will get an absentee ballot from her delivered by a man who will twist your arm.

[trolleygirl]

Next you will get an absentee ballot from her delivered by a man who will twist your arm.

No that would come from Dwayne Caraway...... oh crap, did I say that?

[trolleygirl]

I checked my mail this evening and noticed a late birthday card. Opon closer inspection I noticed it was from my city council woman Pauline Medrano. :huhcld: First off, why is she sending birthday cards to people in her district and second how do they know when the day is? Anyone else get birthday cards from their council person?

It comes from you voter registration and it's a nice touch for a council person to do for his/her constituents. I've never gotten one and EVERYONE knows when it's my birthday.

[CityLove]

Hmm...I think my councilperson might be too busy around my birthday to be thinking about sending a card.

[Columbus Civil]

Sounds like a good use of taxpayer money.

[mikedsjr]

Sounds like a good use of taxpayer money.

:roflmao2:

More potholes. New Birthday Card Budget.

[jdwillis]

Sounds like a good use of taxpayer money.

If the council member has any sense at all, campaign money is the source of funds for this kind of advertising. It is an excellent tool to keep his or her name in front of the voters in a very personal way. Especially if the council member takes the time to personalize the cards.

[Mballar]

If the council member has any sense at all, campaign money is the source of funds for this kind of advertising. It is an excellent tool to keep his or her name in front of the voters in a very personal way. Especially if the council member takes the time to personalize the cards.
I'm sure the constituents would rather have a birthday present in the form of increased police protection, or maybe a filled pothole, instead of a birthday card. Besides, if she's wasting time sending me and others birthday cards in hopes that we'll remember to re-elect her, i say maybe her constituents need to re-consider her candidacy, anyway. I, personally don't want a council member more focused on getting (re)elected than doing the things we elected him/her to do.

[RobertB]

I'm sure the constituents would rather have a birthday present in the form of increased police protection, or maybe a filled pothole, instead of a birthday card. Besides, if she's wasting time sending me and others birthday cards in hopes that we'll remember to re-elect her, i say maybe her constituents need to re-consider her candidacy, anyway. I, personally don't want a council member more focused on getting (re)elected than doing the things we elected him/her to do.
Find me a politician that doesn't worry about getting re-elected, and I'll show you a politician that isn't getting re-elected. You can't do the public's work if you're not in office.

Well, I guess there's the ones like Texas Senate District 3 rep Chris Harris. He's been in office so long, nobody dares to seriously challenge him, either in the Republican primary or the Democrats in the general election. When I looked into running as a Green in 2002, I saw that he was spending his campaign money on a fancy Austin office, complete with $150/mo for cable TV, plus a ridiculous amount for his Austin apartment, and a car lease (from a company owned by one of his biggest contributors) bigger than my house payment. I'd much rather a candidate or official spent that money on birthday cards for constituents.

[Mballar]

Find me a politician that doesn't worry about getting re-elected, and I'll show you a politician that isn't getting re-elected. You can't do the public's work if you're not in office.
I certainly agree with you there. However, I'd like to think that a council member who actually does things that his/her constituents appreciate, like engaging them and being responsive to their needs, will be re-elected, anyway. I don't know, though. I may just be naive. :inclouds:

[monogodo]

I, personally don't want a council member more focused on getting (re)elected than doing the things we elected him/her to do.
Aren't those the same thing?

[jdwillis]

Or as TG recently pointed out to me, there is a difference between being a good politician and a good public servant...

[hamiltonpl]

Sounds like a good use of taxpayer money.
Who said it was funded by taxpayers? It was most likely funded by her reelection campaign. But nevertheless, it is pure speculation.

It was a good idea, and most likely very inexpensive.

[jsoto3]

I may not be remembering correctly, but I think I got a birthday card from Angela Hunt last year.

[mikedsjr]

The money to buy and send cards could be from her campaign funding, but either way, it is humorous to think that birthday cards were more beneficial than using it to fill a few symbolic potholes in her district. She could have put a sign beside them "Paid for by funding from __________'s Campaign".

The birthday cards are a nice gesture and it does give people a good feeling.

[trolleygirl]

A freakin birthday card isn't a huge inconvenience for anyone. We do live in the technological age, or has everyone forgotten what a basic, simple database can do? Every council person has access to a database of voters in their districts. It's already in a spreadsheet! There are zillions of programs that will automatically generate a reminder for whetever values that you select to be reminded of. I can't imagine that her assistant (or her personally, for that matter) spends more than 10 minutes a day auto- generating a list of labels for birthday cards and then signing (or stamping) them and sending.

[mikedsjr]

personally, it would be junk mail to me, since it came from someone I didn't know.

[tamtagon]

personally, it would be junk mail to me, since it came from someone I didn't know.

Me too. If I really got to thinking about it, I would probably get a little missed that a politician would actually try to campaign to me on such a personal level.

[Mballar]

Me too. If I really got to thinking about it, I would probably get a little missed that a politician would actually try to campaign to me on such a personal level.
That's my sentiment, exactly!!! It's borderline offensive. In the back of my mind,I'm thinking: "Hmmm, this person probably feels she can get my vote during the next election simply by mailing this card rather than demonstrating to me what they're actually doing for my district." And the fact that it probably didn't take that much time at all to send as opposed to the time it would take to. . .say, maybe get a pothole filled is even more insulting.

Sending birthday cards is a great marketing tactic. However, they're more appropriate in the business arena with established clients than in the political arena with people you don't know, and never met before.

[RobertB]

That's my sentiment, exactly!!! It's borderline offensive.
Are you serious? You don't want your elected representatives to try to connect with you on a personal (if superficial) level?

A City Council member is the elected official that is the closest to the people. National leaders make decisions about the country's economy and wars and global warming and stuff, but it's your city council member that decides whether the pothole in front of your house gets repaired, or whether you put your trash out on Tuesdays or Thursdays. It's where the rubber meets the road, literally and figuratively.

Sending a birthday card to registered voters in the district isn't offensive to me, especially if it's paid for out of the candidate/officeholder's campaign funds. On the contrary, it tells me that the person knows that they're responsible to me, the voter and neighbor in their district.

[Mballar]

Are you serious? You don't want your elected representatives to try to connect with you on a personal (if superficial) level?

A City Council member is the elected official that is the closest to the people. National leaders make decisions about the country's economy and wars and global warming and stuff, but it's your city council member that decides whether the pothole in front of your house gets repaired, or whether you put your trash out on Tuesdays or Thursdays. It's where the rubber meets the road, literally and figuratively.

Sending a birthday card to registered voters in the district isn't offensive to me, especially if it's paid for out of the candidate/officeholder's campaign funds. On the contrary, it tells me that the person knows that they're responsible to me, the voter and neighbor in their district.
Robert the card is junk mail if I don't know you or I've never met you before.

I'm curious. After the council member has "connected" with you on that warm and fuzzy "personal level," what would be next for you after you receive such a card? Are you going to call up the council member to thank them for the card and invite them over for tea? OR maybe, you'll make it a point to go and research your council member's birth date, mark it on your calendar with a reminder to be sure to return the favor? I mean c'mon. It's a ploy to get your vote. . .plain and simple. That may be enough for some people. I'm just stating that for me, I need to see something tangible. . .whether we've "connected on a personal level" or not.

[Kelley USA]

I would love to get a birthday card! I think it's a pretty cool idea and I see nothing wrong with it. It's a different approach that's for sure!

[trolleygirl]

I would love to get a birthday card! I think it's a pretty cool idea and I see nothing wrong with it. It's a different approach that's for sure!

Nope, you get no card. Obviously only the people who really don't want them are the only people who get them.

Keep dreaming.

:bday:

[Kelley USA]

Well then I'm moving to Frisco!!! I bet people in Frisco get birthday cards. That'll show the Dallas City Council!!!

[Mballar]

Nope, you get no card. Obviously only the people who really don't want them are the only people who get them.


Keep dreaming.

:bday:


Well then I'm moving to Frisco!!! I bet people in Frisco get birthday cards. That'll show the Dallas City Council!!!

:2lol: