Washougal needs social media presence, official says

Washougal’s 203 Facebook fans have not seen a post from the city in their news feed since June 4, 2009.

Since then, the city changed mayors, a lingering recession cooled the area’s population growth and temperatures failed to reach the 60’s in Clark County again.

Scratch that last part. It only seems that it’s been that long.

Washougal council member and Mayor Pro-Tem Jennifer McDaniel believes one of the next council’s goals should be to increase the city’s online footprint. McDaniel is running for re-election this fall.

Washougal does not appear to have a Twitter page. The handle @Washougal belongs to former mayor Stacee Sellers and has not been active since Nov. 8, 2009.

It is unclear whether the city’s current mayor, Sean Guard, has a Twitter. @seanguard is followed by Washougal council member Jon Russell, but has posted just once and lacks a profile picture.

The city’s social media inactivity has to change, McDaniel said.

“If we want to get the word out on the city we need to be more active on social media,” she said.

McDaniel does not have personal Facebook or Twitter pages, she said, because she has privacy concerns about the web sites.

But the city can quell privacy concerns, she said, by hiring a professional to install necessary security settings.