Scrolling through Austin Mayor Steve Adler’s website, you’ll find posts with titles like “What I Learned In Amsterdam” and “Mayor Adler’s Star Wars Inspired Twitter Rant On Austin Don’t Rush.” But under the headline “Twitter feedback on ridesharing in Austin,” you’ll find words many would be afraid to say in front of their own mother.
Mayor Steve Adler announces that he is not in support of Proposition 1 during a news conference at City Hall on Monday, April 25, 2016. (DEBORAH CANNON / AMERICAN STATESMAN)
A Wednesday post to mayoradler.com includes an embedded stream of profane, vitriolic tweets directed at Adler’s Twitter handle, @mayoradler, in the wake of Proposition 1’s failure at the ballot. Some of the tweets compare Adler to Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Many contain explicit references to sexual acts or body parts. Most are not safe to view at work. All are directed at Adler, and they are displayed on the mayor’s homepage.
Non-explicit tweets are few and far between, but a sample:
The full post can be found here. Warning: The tweets used contain explicit language.
The Twitter widget’s profane content is not an error, said Jason Stanford, spokesman for the mayor’s office. The tweets were purposefully selected, and Stanford said that what’s included in the post says it all.
“We got a representative sample,” Stanford said, adding that the tweets “represent some of the extreme communications” members of Austin City Council have received on the subject of ride-hailing.
The embed, a Storify widget, is not automated, said Stanford, adding “I think that would overwhelm Storify” due to the “large volume of feedback” the mayor has received on social media.
The description of the post’s Storify stream reads, “After the May 7 election, Uber and Lyft chose to cease operations in Austin. They are welcome to continue operating in Austin, and the Mayor would invite them to the negotiating table regardless of what they ultimately chose to do. In the meantime, some have shared opinions on Twitter.” That, Stanford said, was the statement Adler intended to issue.
“I think it speaks for itself and quite loudly,” Stanford said.
MORE NEWS ABOUT PROP 1
Timeline: Austin’s ride-hailing election
Adler open minded, cab companies skeptical of deregulation pitch
Complete coverage: Uber and Lyft in Austin
