Monday, April 12, 2010

Mark Neumann: Facebook Fans

Mark Neumann, Republican candidate for governor of Wisconsin, has more Facebook fans than any other gubernatorial candidate in the country.

Well.

I guess that means his Republican opponent Scott Walker should just give up. And Democrat Tom Barrett should, too.

Here's the press release from Neumann's campaign:

MARK NEUMANN NOW HAS MOST FACEBOOK FANS IN COUNTRY

Neumann's 45,000+ Facebook fans are more than any other candidate for Governor
Neumann's fan numbers leave election opponent in the dust
Sign of momentum: Neumann doubles Facebook fans in just 8 weeks


WAUKESHA, Wis. - April 12, 2010 - Mark Neumann has reached an astonishing 45,000+ fans on the social networking site Facebook. In just eight weeks the Neumann campaign has doubled its Facebook fans and at this writing has more than twice as many fans as his primary election opponent.

Neumann is the first Republican candidate for Governor anywhere to reach the 40,000 goal. In the past ten weeks, Neumann passed Texas incumbent Governor Rick Perry and Texas Democrat candidate for Governor Bill White, who previously had the most.

Neumann has kept up with the innovative advancements made by social networking sites. He personally takes time to connect with Wisconsin citizens via Facebook and Twitter by regularly posting blogs, video messages, and answering questions on his website, http://www.markforgov.com/. People are able to personally connect with Neumann and follow him every step of the way through Facebook.

"Conservative solutions like cutting spending and lowering taxes to create jobs might be time tested and proven to work, but 21st century campaigns need to adapt these messages and reach new waves of voters using tools like Facebook," Neumann said.

Neumann's large gathering of followers via Facebook is yet another indication of his campaign’s growing momentum. This record number of followers comes on the heels of a series of independent polls showing voters are responding to Neumann's message. Last week, a St. Norbert College poll showed Neumann statistically tied with Scott Walker in the Republican primary (23-24%) and defeating Tom Barrett by 14% in the general.

Neumann has more Facebook followers. Nice factoid.

More factoids:

Scott Walker has 5,352 followers on Twitter.

Neumann has 3,539 Twits following him.

So Walker is trouncing Neumann on Twitter.

WHO CARES?

There's no way to determine how many of the followers are supporters. There's no way to know if some followers have registered with multiple identities. There are no scientific controls whatsoever.

The Facebook/Twitter numbers are very close to meaningless, indicating nothing.

___________________

This press release from Scott Walker's campaign gives some information worth considering:
ICYMI: Business Journal of Milwaukee: “County reports $8.9 million budget surplus”

County reports $8.9 million budget surplus
Business Journal of Milwaukee
Monday, April 12, 2010

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker said the county's moves to save money, including departmental budget reductions, staff furloughs and a wage freeze, have resulted in a preliminary budget surplus of $8.9 million.
The unaudited estimate was prepared by the county fiscal and budget administrator and the county controller and is set at a surplus of $8,880,925 for the fiscal year that ended Dec. 31, 2009. The figures were provided as part of the quarterly report released Monday.

Among the actions taken that allowed for the surplus were 3 percent reductions across all departments, implementation of two furlough days, enacted with support from the County Board, and a hiring and wage freeze, the county said in a press release.

The county also saved money by switching to a new health care provider, according to the release.

The 2009 surplus will be counted as revenue for the 2011 budget, which was projected by the Department of Administrative Services to see a $47 million shortfall, assuming a $4.1 million year-end surplus. The $8.9 million surplus increases the amount available for the 2011 county budget by $4.8 million.

Walker said in his 2010 State of the County Address that he will present a 2011 budget that will cut the property tax levy so that more residents and employers can afford to stay in the county. http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2010/04/12/daily3.html

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