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Back in June, when I posted about Mayor Villaraigosa's Twitter updates lagging behind by hours, the account at HTRimalower tweeted the link and a question: "Why is L.A.Observed hating on me?" An LAO reader pointed it out to me tonight after tracking the account to Harry Tomás Rimalower, a Harvard undergrad from Los Angeles who has posted online that he is a new media intern for Villaraigosa. Emails the reader:
I'm not sure why the mayor is having a college student send out tweets on his behalf. I think they should create a new profile like "LAMayor'sOffice" or something. "Villaraigosa" makes it sound like it's his personal account, which is kind of deceptive.
The photo of Villaraigosa and bio line calling the tweeter "the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles" further suggests that it's him posting. The alleged Villaraigosa tweeted six times in the past 24 hours, while on vacation in Africa — including appeals for donations to the Michael Jackson fund and once urging all-star game votes for Dodger Matt Kemp and Angel Chone Figgins. Unlike Lu Parker's send about Africa, none sound convincingly like the mayor. Perhaps — just perhaps? — the lack of transparency helps to explain why AV has 4,844 followers and Gavin Newsom has 709,542.
Noted: Newsom speaks today at noon at Town Hall Los Angeles, subject "Healthy San Francisco: A Local Model for Universal Coverage and National Reform."