If there's a pothole to be filled or graffiti in need of covering, iPhone users in Paul Krekorian's council district have an app for that.
Krekorian, he of those Google-mapped street resurfacing projects, is launching a new application designed to help residents keep in touch with his office. The Krekorian app was designed in-house -- and it's free.
"It will speed up the delivery of constituent services and create a new vehicle of communication to make government more transparent and open to our constituents," Krekorian told ABC News.
It works both ways. For example, an alert from Krekorian's office can be sent for emergencies or road closures.
The city of Portland uses a similar application. Residents can request service on whatever appears to need fixing.
Online political analyst Brent Blackaby told ABC News the applications allow officials to keep in touch with the constituency during the elected term instead of just during election season.
"What we're trying to do, while someone is still in office, is to communicate with the people that support them all the good things that the elected official is doing so that people are still connected and still in the loop with what's happening," Blackaby told ABC News. "And then when it comes time for campaign season to begin again, you've got a strong base of support and a strong team of people online, you have grassroots support behind you, that you've continued to build and grow and hopefully over time."
Krekorian also has a policy blog, YouTube page -- it features an update on the Mulholland Drive restoration project -- and a Twitter feed with about 500 followers. His Twitter page notes his staff is in the process of developing a BlackBerry application.
That's great, but how fast will that pothole get filled?
"As quickly as our services will allow," Krekorian told ABC News. "At least this is a way to get the complaint in."
