To have or not to have another Very Special Election? That is the question!

Senate President and now acting Governor Tomblin (@Senator_Tomblin) held a press conference this morning to clarify what West Virginians can expect to see as he takes over Manchin’s mansion. Not surprising to hear that, according to Tomblin, there doesn’t seem to be a need to have an election for governor until 2012. After all, he’s been saying that for quite some time now. But that opinion comes with several objections from state Democrats and Republicans.

Kanawha County attorney and former candidate Thorton Cooper called for a special gubernatorial election in 2011, threatening to sue moments after Tomblin becomes governor. State Senate (@wvsenate) Minority Leader Mike Hall states that the State Constitution calls for an election sooner than 2011. Speaker of the House (@wvhouse) Thompson (@RT4WV) stated in a Charleston Gazette (@wvgazette) article by Lawrence Messina (@lmessina) this morning, “Clearly, acting governor is not governor. We would be without a governor until we have an election. The constitution envisioned a reasonable election date... It could be very costly for us not to have the election.” (Full article :http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201011080268)

Having an election in 2011 bears one major burden on us all: the amount of money it will cost the state. Overall, the decision to have or not to have a special election is in the hands of the Supreme Court. But when will we know the outcome?

Back to Tomblin, he plans to run for Senate President again, but will not draw a salary form the Senate, only from being acting governor. His agenda includes education as a top priority, but then again didn’t Manchin’s? (We all saw how successful the June 2010 special session was.) Overall, chaos 2011 here we come!

*While trying to link some twitter names stated above, Twitter failed on me. I apologize and will update later this afternoon.

Digital, Youth and Politics: The Week's Hottest Moves : By Lauren DeLisa Coleman

The times, they are a changin'. Voices previously a bit off the radar are gaining more and more visibility thanks to digital platforms. If you missed the MSNBC segment on the announcement of a new series on Hip Hop and politics, definitely check it out on line. NBC's The Grio and allhiphop.com have come together to create what seems to be one of the most extensive and cool looks at hip hop culture's influence on politics, almost since the culture's beginning. Entitled Hip Hop & Politics: From the Beat to the Ballot, the on-line series sizzles with info that any and all policy makers looking to connect better with influential constituents (who also happen to be those who out-index across digital media usage) should watch. Viewing this web series could only help politicians to become more savvy when interfacing with consultants they should be bringing on to specifically target this demo and convey messages to them across on-line and mobile phone platforms.

And in the spirit of further converging politics with digital platforms and youth culture, this writer is joining forces with political consultant Cartney McCracken to create a new Follow Friday series on Twitter. Beginning June 18, 2010 follow either @mediaempress or @CartneyWV to jump onto the #FFRed, #FFBlue, #FFWhite series. The first two will obviously offer Twitter handles of policy makers who correspond to their party color. #FFWhite will feature the Twitter handles of Independents as well those related to the political scene from consultants to journalists and more.

"I feel social media has eclipsed traditional media when it comes to connecting with our government. And connecting is the key world. We started #FFwhite, #FFblue, and #FFred to connect tweeps across the nation, and across the world, with elected officials and with those who are in the political arena. We're not just creating a list for people to follow, we're leveraging the influence of constituents on their government. We're proactively championing more collaboration between the public and it's government," explains Cartney.

Watch for an interesting mash-up of people.

There you have it, two unexpected yet welcome moves as we watch politics further converge with pop culture and digital tech.

Enjoy!

Website: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lauren-coleman/digital-youth-and-politic_b_616553.html