He only had time to answer a fraction of the questions posed, but Gov. Rick Scott made the best of the time and space allotted in his first Twitter Town Hall.
Fielding queries ranging from downsizing the Corrections Department to his personal impressions of Florida, Scott typed out answers to 20 questions in less than 30 minutes on Thursday night.
The governor's responses were necessarily brief, given the 140-character cap that Twitter imposes.
For example, @Floridavoters asked: "What are your thoughts around offshore drilling?"
Scott volleyed back: "Need to make sure we do it when it is safe, not before."
Unlike press conferences, there were no follow-up questions to delve deeper, and the heavy volume of incoming posts at times strained Twitter's capacity, occasionally stalling the e-dialogue.
Of the estimated 1,000 questions that poured in -- Scott had nearly 5,000 Twitter followers before the event -- the governor selected a wide range of topics. (See the evening's chat here.)
The posted inquiries were sincere and polite ... with one exception.
Toward the end of the session, Scott re-tweeted a question that ended with the disparaging comment:
So what, are you gunna fire everyone and hire Walmart employees? Yeah, thats great you jackass, Pretty Twister challenged.
Apparently, Pretty Twister hadn't heard President Barack Obama's call for more civil discourse.
Frustration lurked in the background as left-leaning/Democratic groups urged supporters to chime in. Progress Florida tried to prime the pump by giving its website followers a list of leading questions:
The people put Fair Districts in our Constitution. Will you commit to ensuring it is enforced? Should your agency -- AHCA -- be ruling on whether your company Solantic is guilty of taxpayer fraud? Do you plan to take resources from cash-strapped public schools and give them to private companies? Do you support "Personhood" Amd. that defines a fertilized egg as a person and would ban some types of birth control? Do you think it's right to be handing out six-figure salaries when Fla. min. wage workers are being denied .6-cent raise?
None of those questions surfaced. This random, off-the-wall query didn't make the cut either: "How will Emergency Management deal with the Zombie invasion?"
Brian Hughes, a Scott spokesman, told Sunshine State News that the governor was pleased with the program and "is committed to using all forms of social media to reach out to Floridians." Stay tuned.
Reach Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 559-4719.
