The Good, The Bad and the Ugly of Using Social Media & Grassroots Communications for more transparency to the people.

Using social media to make local government more open, accessible and understandable

One of the commitments I made when I was elected to Bradford West Gwillimbury Council was simple: residents should not have to become experts in municipal government just to understand what is happening in their own community.

Council agendas can be hundreds of pages long. Staff reports can be technical. Meetings happen while most people are working, raising families, running businesses, taking their kids to activities or simply trying to get through a busy week.

Technically, that information may be public.

But I believe true transparency means more than making information available. It means making it accessible.

That is why I have made social media such an important part of how I communicate with residents.

And from the beginning, that approach was not always encouraged.

I Was Told Not Everyone Needed to Know Everything

When I first came onto Council, I was discouraged by some longer-serving, legacy members of the political establishment, and people around them, from taking so much information directly to the public.

My approach was different.

I believed then, and I believe even more strongly today, that informing people is paramount, whether the news is good or bad.

Residents do not only deserve communication when there is a ribbon to cut, a success to celebrate or an announcement that makes Council look good.

They deserve to hear about the difficult issues too.

The financial pressures. The projects that are not going according to plan. The difficult votes. The disagreements. The decisions that cost taxpayers money. And yes, the successes too.

Transparency cannot be selective.

If we only communicate the information that makes us look good, that is not transparency. That is marketing.

Taking Town Hall Outside of Town Hall

For years, municipal communication followed a fairly traditional model: publish an agenda, hold a meeting, post the minutes and expect residents to go looking for the information.

Technology gives us the opportunity to do much better.

I have tried to use social media to bring Council directly to residents by explaining issues before important decisions, sharing information from reports, discussing how I voted and, importantly, explaining why.

Sometimes that means breaking down a complicated issue into plain language. Sometimes it means posting a video after a Council meeting. Sometimes it means sharing a staff report or directing residents to the original documents so they can read the information themselves. And sometimes it simply means answering someone's question directly.

The goal has always been the same: give residents more information, not less.

Sometimes I Take the Criticism for Decisions I Did Not Even Support

There is another side to communicating openly that people do not always see.

When you are one of the people regularly explaining what Council is doing, you often become the person residents associate with the decision.

I have taken the brunt of criticism for Council decisions, including at times decisions I did not vote in favour of.

That is part of being accessible.

I could avoid some of that criticism by staying quiet. I could wait for somebody else to explain the difficult issues. I could communicate only the popular decisions.

But that is not why I was elected.

My responsibility is to inform residents, not simply protect myself politically.

If Council makes a decision, residents deserve to know about it. If I supported it, I will explain why. If I opposed it, I will explain why. And if new information changes my thinking, I will explain that too.

Facts Should Not Change Depending on the Political Agenda

Transparency also requires something else: the facts have to come first.

Politics can create a temptation to emphasize one piece of information, leave another piece out or frame an issue in whatever way best supports someone's personal or political agenda.

I do not believe that is how municipal government should operate.

Residents deserve the complete picture, including information that may be inconvenient to me or to a position I have taken.

That does not mean there will not be different interpretations of the same information. Reasonable people can look at the same facts and reach different conclusions. That is democracy.

But we should never be afraid of the facts, and we should never manipulate them simply because the complete story does not fit the political narrative we want to tell.

Give people the information. Let them ask questions. Let them challenge us. And trust residents to make up their own minds.

Explaining My Votes, Including the Difficult Ones

Transparency is easy when everyone agrees with you. It matters much more when they do not.

I believe elected officials should be prepared to explain their decisions, including controversial decisions and votes that may not be popular with everyone.

Residents deserve to know what information I considered, what questions I asked and why I ultimately voted the way I did.

I have the right to adjust my vote based on the publics needs and concerns.

That does not mean everyone will agree with me. They should not have to. Healthy local government includes respectful disagreement.

But whether you agree with my vote or not, you should never have to wonder where I stand or why I made a decision and who its for.

Social Media Should Be a Two-Way Street

I do not view social media simply as a place to make announcements. It should provide residents with another way to reach their elected representatives.

Questions come in through Facebook, Instagram, email, comments and direct messages, often at all hours.

I make an effort to respond because sometimes what looks like a simple question reveals a much larger issue.

A resident may ask about a road, park, development, traffic problem or Town

service. That conversation can lead to questions for staff, additional research or an issue being raised at Council.

That is what accessibility should look like. Government should not only talk at people. We need to talk with people.

Reaching the People Who Do Not Have Time for Politics

This is particularly important to me.

There is a large group of residents whose voices can easily be missed in traditional political conversations.

They are working. They are raising children. They are running businesses. They are coaching teams. They are caring for parents. They are commuting. They are volunteering.

They may never delegate at Council or spend hours reading an agenda package. They may not participate in every political discussion online.

But they pay taxes, use Town services and care deeply about Bradford West Gwillimbury.

Their voices matter just as much as the loudest voices in the room.

Social media gives municipal leaders an opportunity to reach those residents where they already are and give them information in a format they can actually use.

Showing the Work, Not Just the Result

Another part of transparency is showing residents that municipal decisions do not happen overnight.

An idea raised today may require staff research, budgeting, consultation, committee consideration and several Council decisions before anything actually happens.

When possible, I have tried to share that journey.

Where did an idea start? What did Council ask staff to investigate? What did the report recommend? How much will it cost? Where will the money come from? What happens next?

Those details matter because residents should be able to follow an issue from idea to decision to implementation.

That also creates accountability. If Council says we are going to do something, residents should be able to come back later and ask: did we actually do it?

Transparency Does Not Mean Governing by Facebook

There is also an important distinction.

Social media is an excellent communication tool, but it should not replace proper municipal process, professional staff advice, public consultation or thoughtful decision-making.

And the loudest comment section should never automatically determine public policy. its micro section of the total population.

Leadership means listening broadly, reviewing the facts, considering different perspectives and then making a decision.

Social media should help residents understand and participate in that process, not replace it.

The Price of Transparency Can Be Criticism

Being open means accepting that sharing more information can generate more questions, criticism and debate. I have experienced that firsthand.

But I would rather take criticism for putting information in front of residents than avoid criticism by keeping them in the dark.

I am not afraid of residents asking questions. I am not afraid of people disagreeing with me. And I am not afraid of explaining a difficult decision.

What concerns me much more is a culture where information is controlled because someone is worried about how residents might react to it.

Government should not fear an informed public. It should welcome one.

We Can Go Further

There is still much more that can be done.

I want Bradford West Gwillimbury to continue improving the way residents can follow Council decisions, understand major projects and see how their tax dollars are being used.

That means continuing to explore better digital communication, clearer summaries of major decisions, easier access to information, more understandable financial reporting and better ways for residents to participate before important decisions are made.

Technology gives us tools that previous generations of municipal leaders simply did not have. We should use them.

My Commitment

I will not pretend every post will be perfect. I will not pretend everyone will agree with me. And I will not pretend transparency always makes political life easier.

Sometimes it does exactly the opposite.

But informing residents is more important than avoiding criticism.

My standard is simple: show up, communicate, answer questions, explain decisions, provide the facts and listen when residents disagree.

Do not hide the bad news. Do not exaggerate the good news. Do not manipulate information to fit a personal agenda. And do not underestimate residents' ability to understand the issues and form their own opinions.

I believe elected officials should be accessible between elections, not simply visible during them.

Because this is not our Town Hall. It is yours.

And an informed community is one of the strongest forms of accountability we can have.

Joseph Giordano

Councillor, Ward 4 & Candidate for Deputy Mayor

Inform people. Good or bad.

LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE.