Politics and Social Media

Social media is widely used in political campaigns at every level of government to share candidate information, discuss campaign issues, communicate with voters, and promote campaign events or messages. Municipal social-media accounts and other official communication channels must remain separate from candidates’ campaign accounts, political parties, ballot-measure campaigns, and other political platforms.

Employees may engage in lawful political activity in their personal capacities and on their own time. However, employees generally may not campaign while on duty, use municipal time or resources for political purposes, or use an official municipal account, title, uniform, logo, equipment, or authority in a way that suggests municipal endorsement of a candidate, party, campaign, or ballot measure.