Wins Fourth Place In Congressional Social Media Contest

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Charles Rangel won fourth place in 2011 Member Online All-Star Competition, hosted by the Democratic Whip's Office to encourage increased communication between constituents and Members of Congress through social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. A total of 261 Democratic Members and Committee offices participated in this year's competition.

"Communicating with my constituents of the work I'm doing as their Representative in Congress is one of my highest priorities as a legislator," said Rangel. "I enjoy every opportunity to directly engage with my community back home, and am happy to be recognized for utilizing social media to do so."

The winners were selected based on the total new Facebook Fans, Twitter Followers, and YouTube Subscribers acquired during the three-week contest that began on September 26th. Congressman Rangel gained a total of 356 new Facebook fans, 854 more twitter followers, and 16 additional YouTube subscribers.

"New technology enables my community to receive, and react to, most recent developments in Washington far faster than in the past. I reach out to my constituents to keep them informed, and encourage them to participate in the democratic process," added Rangel. "In essence, engagement via social media not only enhances our democracy but empowers us as we compete with the rest of the world."

Rangel was also recently recognized to have one of the best websites on Capitol Hill and was given a “112th Congress Bronze Mouse Award” by the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF), a nonpartisan nonprofit working to improve communications between citizens and Congress and enhance operations in Capitol Hill offices.

He also releases a weekly e-newsletter called the Rangel Report, and even utilizes mobile applications to engage in two-way conversations with his constituents.

Rangel has almost 9,000 people on Facebook (www.facebook.com/cbrangel), and nearly 7600 followers on Twitter at @cbrangel.