A once popular Ely local politics facebook page was shut down this month by its administrator.
According to White Pine County Commissioner Mike Coster who also contributed to the page, the shut down occurred after a popular revolt by its members.
But page administrator Audrey Clark begged to differ or at least not completely agree.
The page— White Pine and Ely Politics was begun in March 2013 by Ely resident Audrey Clark as a local politics forum coinciding with Ely’s municipal election season.
“I started the group as a way for me to learn about politics. I really knew nothing and thought it would be a great and fun way for me to learn, little did I know the ruckus it would cause! I am truly amazed how the group grew and transformed. A lot of people joined and seemed to enjoy having a place to discuss issues and try to find answers to things.” said Clark last year.
Initially the page had a large impact on local politics.
Boasting a little over 250 members, the White Pine & Ely Politics page was credited by many with tipping the scales in a close city election.
“I have been told by many who live here in Ely that this group helped them become more informed on the issues then they have ever been in the past! This I find to be a great thing!!” Clark wrote in an e-mail.
“The election turned out to be quite a nail biter. When the early votes came in I was a bit disappointed. But when the next results came in I was Jumping out of my seat! Things had taken a turn for the better!!” Clark wrote.
Soon after the election, the number of members grew to over 700. In addition to holding an open forum Clark’s Facebook page also featured videos of various public meetings all or most taped by Ely businessman George Chachas.
It was a dispute over those meeting that was the catalyst for the closure of the group.
“Audrey put them up on her page,” Coster said. “But then they were put up on youtube. Audrey got upset and began to boot people off. She booted me off as well.” Coster recounted. “By the end of November I think she was down to about 117 and then I noticed the page was just gone. It is a shame too. Before she began booting people, it was a very nice page.”
Until the November election, Clark had a strict no booting policy for her face book page.
“We can disagree without being disagreeable,” she once said.
According to Clark the real reason she shut down the page was because her computer went kaput.
However, Clark added that even if her computer problems were solved she would not restart the page.
“No body can say anything nice about anyone any more,” she said. “Frankly I’ve had it.”
Although gone from the web, Clark’s experiment was a success, at least for copy cats. Today, they are at least seven other facebook pages with similar content as Clark’s original.
