OUT & ABOUT: In Philadelphia’s 7th Council Dist. – It’s Manny Morales Vs. Social Media

by Denise Clay

The National Association of Black Journalists, an organization that got its start here in Philadelphia and counts among its founders such local journalistic luminaries as the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Acel Moore and late 900AM WURD host Reggie Bryant, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

 
As part of NABJ’s 40th anniversary convention in Minneapolis this summer, I’ll be moderating a workshop called “Doing the Write Thing: Using an Old School Skill for New School Journalism”, which will focus on tips to become a better writer, how to be coherent using 140 Twitter characters, and what NOT to say on social media.

MANNY MORALES announced his candidacy with a boost of support from Democratic Party. But a social-media scandal has imperiled some of that support.

That last one is something that 7th Councilmanic Dist. candidate Manny Morales could probably use right now.

 
Morales was flying high after receiving the endorsement of the ward leaders of the 7th Dist. over incumbent Councilwoman Maria Quiñones Sánchez.

 
But unfortunately for Morales, his social-media footprint has imperiled that endorsement. On Monday, Councilwoman Sánchez unveiled her version of 21st Century Opposition Research in the form of a website, meetmannymorales.com.

 
Among the greatest hits on this compilation of Morales’s Facebook posts are:
● Posts supporting Voter ID laws;
● Posts denouncing a woman’s right to choose;
● Pro-gun posts;
● Posts cheering the jury’s decision in the Trayvon Martin murder trial;
● And my personal favorite, posts advocating for English-only laws and closing our border with Mexico.
Morales told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the posts, which were put on his now-defunct Facebook page between 2010-2014, were the result of his being hacked, something that would make more sense if we weren’t talking four years worth of posts.

 
But it would appear that some heavy hitters in the Democratic City Committee aren’t quite buying it. Former Mayor John Street has called on DCC to rescind its endorsement of Morales and said he should drop out of the race.

 
State Sen. Anthony Williams, one of the six Democrats running for Mayor, went a step further, calling on his fellow candidates to demand a change of heart from the party.
“Mr. Morales should withdraw his candidacy,” Williams said in a statement released on Tuesday. “I hope that the party will take this new information under advisement and reconsider their endorsement. I call on all candidates in the mayoral election to join me in this request. This moment calls for us to put aside our differences to address an issue that demeans the democratic values we all hold dear.”

Since former Judge Nelson Díaz, one of the other mayoral candidates, endorsed Morales, I don’t see that happening.

Congressman Bob Brady, head of the Democratic City Committee, has promised to look into the incident.

Meanwhile, a race that was already going to be pretty nasty to begin with stands to get even nastier.

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