Wow. I opened my email this afternoon and found my first newsletter from Mayor Pro Tem John Nielsen. Thanks, John.  Apparently, Nielsen has been distributing a newsletter via email since 2009. He and Deborah Gavello seem to be the only members of the city council that send newsletters or email updates with any regularity. I’m not sure why I have been put on his list, but I suspect John heard about Our Town Tustin and wanted to make sure I got his name spelled right. In any case Kudos, John, for making an effort to keep your constituents informed. John also has a Facebook page where he proudly proclaims his councilman status.

Curiously, Al Murray and Beckie Gomez-McKeon have campaign websites up but have not bothered to convert them to ongoing sites that could provide us with perspective on their views. Both sites  suffer from a lack of currency regarding what is going on around Tustin since they were elected. Al does have a Facebook page, as does Deborah Gavello although her page is not public. She should change that if she wants to get any mileage out of it.

And then there is Jerry.

Jerry has two websites, one for his business (which, by the way, is in Irvine. Apparently, we don’t have nice enough law offices here in Tustin) and one for his upcoming recall. Neither of these sites seems to be regularly updated. In fact, the “What’s New” page of his business site has old information and broken links that lead to nowhere. The “Save Tustin” site (interesting choice of title) is not a whole lot better. It has sparse information on Jerry’s record according to Jerry and his response letter to the Recall Notice. Amante also has a Facebook page but it has been sparsely updated since his failed run for the Assembly.

Considering we are in the information age, you would think that all of our councilmembers would endeavor to communicate with their constituents and keep them informed. The web is a natural place for community and should be a place for them to showcase their ideas and communicate with the citizens of Tustin. Of course, they are already elected and have little to worry about (even Jerry since he is termed out) until the next election cycle. Then, I imagine we will hear plenty from all of them.