Suburban Maryland Public Officials To Follow on Twitter

Patch did a survey of the most influential public officials on Twitter by using Klout scores, which analyze, among other things, how much people interact with social media accounts.

Rebecca Adelman, a UMBC assistant professor of media and communication, predicts Twitter use among public officials will soon become the norm.

“I could see how that could be a real benefit for someone trying to maintain a relationship with their constituents,” she said. “The other thing it allows officials to do is maintain a constant presence in the lives of their constituents. I can imagine it would be really helpful if someone was running for election and needed to be recognized.”

Here’s who Patch recommends you follow, based on Klout scores and overall Twitter usage.

Howard County

County Executive Ken Ulman; @kenulman; 38

Howard County Government; @hocogov; 26

Council member Courtney Watson; @courtneywatson1; 17

Montgomery County

Montgomery County PIO; @MontgomeryCoMD; 43 Klout score

Council member Hans Riemer; @HansRiemer; 28

Council member Nancy Navarro; @Nancy_Navarro; 25

Council member Roger Berliner; @RogerBerliner; 25

Council member George Leventhal; @GeorgeLeventhal; 22

Council member Craig Rice; @ricepolitics; 10

Laurel

Mayor Craig Moe; @laurelmayor; 18

City of Laurel; @cityoflaurel; 18

Baltimore County

County Executive Kevin Kamenetz; @BCExKamenetz; 23

Baltimore County Emergency Management; @BACOemergency; 17

Council member David Marks; @david_s_marks; 17

Council member Todd Huff; @ToddHuff5; 12

Council Member Tom Quirk; @Tom_Quirk; no Klout score