Sarbanes and the Web: ‘The gates are open’

Rep. John Sarbane's YouTube pageIn an effort to be more transparent, U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes’ (D-Towson) campaign is finding new ways to reach out to constituents and voters in Third district via the Internet.

“The gates are open,” said George Zisiadis who works as the Sarbanes campaign’s social media coordinator.

The campaign has created a YouTube page, which features videos of Sarbanes speaking about a variety of issues. He then asks viewers to respond and send the campaign their own thoughts on the subject.

According to Zisiadis, the campaign’s idea grew out of Sarbanes “commitment to transparency” and “desire for real constituency interaction.” Zisiadis explained that people will believe what they see, and that the campaign wanted to show them exactly what they are up to.

Zisiadis noted that the Internet is becoming a “really influential force in politics.”

“We realized you can use it for so much more [than campaign ads],” he said. “This is how a person running for political office should be handling themselves in the 21st century.”

The campaign has created a Facebook presence as well. “[We] have a profile set up and we are on it all day basically,” Zisiadis said. “You can really tell that they wouldn’t have gotten in contact with our campaign otherwise.”

Zisiadis noted that “house parties and meet and greats” were important as well, but the online tools have “the ability to reach so many more people.”

John Sarbanes currently represents the Third congressional district. First elected in 2006, Sarbanes will face Republican Thomas Harris in November’s general election.