Jobs in the Office - Connecting to the People

When we generally look and think about the work that people in the Mayor's office accomplish, thoughts of legislation and appearances come to mind. We summarize our view of the Mayor's office by what we see done and presented on the news at night. Clearly These are the important things and things that matter most. This blog will not argue that. Instead I want to talk about that things that go unnoticed but that are done everyday in the Mayor's office, whether or not they are appreciated or really mean anything to the big picture.

For most of my internship I have been given my work from Kerry Hayes who is a special assistant to the Mayor. His job entails too many things to give it a very specific title, at least that is my view on it seeing as even I have yet to be able to pinpoint exactly what his job is. I do know that what of Kerry's jobs is to help update the Mayor's Facebook page. In this age of media where everyone seems to be on the internet in one fashion or another, politicians have taken hold of social media for their benefit. One of the major complaints before the social media revolution was how unreachable and distant politicians seems from their constituents. Through Facebook and other sources of media, politicians are able to reach their constituents on a continually basis and give voters the chance to feel like they have direct contact with their elected officials. Kerry has the job of updating the Mayor's Facebook page on an almost daily basis, checking on what people post on it, and keeping the citizens of Memphis updated on what the Mayor is doing. This helps keep up the Mayor's image as well as support in the Memphis community.

Another small job that continually done but not publicized would be the production of proclamations. Every week different people and groups ask the Mayor to publish proclamations either congratulating, commemorating, or recognizing people, organizations, or events that have contributed to the city of Memphis. The Mayor's Office Secretary is usually the one who creates these proclamations and then the Mayor signs them. I have gotten the chance to write many of these while I have interned at the Mayor's office. It is seen as a nice gesture by the mayor, to take time out of his day to commemorate a contributing person, organization, or event in the city that is that has impacted the city in a positive way. It is an easy thing to do for the Mayor but clearly it means a lot to the citizens of Memphis as these proclamations are continually requested every week. It is just one more thing that connects the Mayor's office to the people and helps build the moral of the city.