Mike Porter, senior clinical professor of marketing at the University of St. Thomas, spoke with KSTP about the City of Vadnais Heights’ decision to hire a public relations firm as it faces a citizen petition seeking a public vote on a proposed new fire station.
From the article:
The city says it needs help getting the facts it used to make its decision about the fire station to the public, which is all it legally can do in the case of a forced public vote.
“Think of all the stakeholders that you have in any municipality,” said Mike Porter, who’s spent decades as a PR professional and now teaches marketing at the University of St. Thomas. “You’ve got the businesses, you’ve got the residents, you’ve got all of the vendors that come and go. There’s a lot of folks that need to be communicated with.”
Porter says it’s pretty normal to see a city like Vadnais Heights, embroiled in a controversy over an expensive public project, hire outside help.
“It’s not unusual … to need somebody for this short-term need, because everybody’s stretched so thin,” he said. “There’s a certain kind of expertise that’s needed that even a city with a team doesn’t necessarily have sitting there, waiting to do something.”
