When Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson Sees “You’ve Got Mail” … He Deletes It. (Copy)
Picon was a bit surprised to read this 2015 email from then Sparks City Councilman Ed Lawson representing Ward 2, who pointed out that he gets about 100 emails per day and deletes the email when he doesn’t know the sender and doesn’t open the email per, his own comment. Our question is does that mean that Councilman Lawson knew each of his constituents, by name, in Ward 2? We’re going to doubt that. So, since he doesn’t even open an email from someone he doesn’t know, how does he hear from his constituents? Does Ed take a phone call if he doesn’t know you?
We’re certain when a voter/constituent takes the time and sends an email to their councilperson they expect it to be read. Sadly, citizens of Sparks who emailed Councilman Lawson, should know he deleted it if he didn’t know your name. Hopefully this will clear up a mystery for those numerous voters who might have emailed Ed and never heard back. It’s simple, he didn’t know you, so he deleted you.
Now start to do the math on this, if Ed received over 100 emails per day that means that he got about 36,500 in a year, and our question is, how many names he recognized and took the time to respond to. Let’s take this to another level – 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 would make it about 182,500 emails that Councilman Lawson received. We’re trying to figure out a way to ask the City of Sparks how many emails Councilman Lawson did respond to over those five years. While we ponder that question, we have one of our own. When Councilman Lawson was appointed to serve out the remaining term of Mayor Ron Smith after his death, did Mayor Lawson then open emails if he didn’t recognize the person’s name.
Going back to the email where Ed is expressing his displeasure that he might have to open emails from people he doesn’t know – he wants to set-up a ‘Code Word’ so he would know the email was part of the UNR student group working on behalf of TMRPA on a strategic communication plan. Wait, communications? Isn’t that what the emails are that Ed is deleting without opening – communications.
Ed should watch the movie, You’ve Got Mail when Kathleen says, “I don’t want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void.” Well, Picon is not like Kathleen Kelly and we don’t want to send a question out to the void, instead we’d like an answer and that would be how does Mayor Ed Lawson communicate with the citizens of Sparks, and we’re willing to ‘go to the mattresses’ to get our answer.