You, like most people, probably don’t want reviled Internet providers Comcast and Time Warner Cable to join forces to create a mega-corporation that could kill the Internet as we know it. But you’re probably not a mayor of a large American city.
A whopping 52 mayors from cities across the country have all declared their support for the merger. In a signed letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published Thursday, Aug. 21, they adopt those companies’ twisted logic that a near-monopoly would be a good thing for their citizens.
As it happens, Comcast and Time Warner are regarded by several surveys as the most hated companies in America. They spend a fortune lobbying Congress to overturn net neutrality, which, if successful, would allow them to charge customers more to access certain websites at full speed.
Unlike the tools available to expose donations to members of Congress—to whom Comcast and Time Warner have given millions of dollars in campaign donations, some of it to politicians who then directly tried to kill net neutrality—there isn’t a central database to search mayoral campaign contributions.
Regardless, you probably want to know if your mayor has an inexplicable taste for high prices, low speeds, and terrible customer service. And if they do, you might want to give them a call.
Alabama
William A. Bell, Sr., Birmingham
California
Tom Tait, Anaheim
Kathleen DeRosa, Cathedral City
Harry Price, Fairfield
Acquanetta Warren, Fontana
Jeffrey Gee, Redwood City
Connecticut
Pedro E. Segarra, Hartford
Colorado
Steve Hogan, Aurora
Marc Williams, Arvada
Richard N. McLean, Brighton
Michael B. Hancock, Denver
Florida
Joy Cooper, Hallandale Beach
Alvin Brown, Jacksonville
George Vallejo, North Miami Beach
John Marks, Tallahassee
Tomas Regalado, Miami
Lori C. Moseley, Miramar
Buddy Dyer, Orlando
Frank C. Ortis, Pembroke Pines
Cindy Lerner, Pinecrest
Kansas
Michael A. Boehm, Lenexa
Michael Copeland, Olathe
Massachusetts
Kevin J. Dumas, Attleboro
Gary Christenson, Malden
Michael McGlynn, Medford
Daniel Rizzo, Revere
New Jersey
Albert B. Kelly, Bridgeton
Dana Redd, Camden
Frank Nolan, Highlands
David DelVecchio, Lambertville
Gary J. Passanante, Somerdale
Thomas F. Kelaher, Toms River
Eric Jackson, Trenton
New Mexico
Richard J. Berry, Albuquerque
Ken Miyagishima, Las Cruces
New York
Byron Brown, Buffalo
Ernest D. Davis, Mount Vernon
Oregon
Lou Odgen, Tualatin
Pennsylvania
Joseph DiGirolamo, Bensalem
Eric Papenfuse, Harrisburg
Rick Gray, Lancaster
Robert A. McMahon, Media
Michael A. Nutter, Philadelphia
C. Kim Bracey, York
South Carolina
Joe Riley, Charleston
Stephen K. Benjamin, Columbia
Texas
Lee Leffingwell, Austin
Beth Van Duyne, Irving
Allen Owen, Missouri City
Leonard Scarcella, Stafford
Matthew Doyle, Texas City
Correction: This story originally placed Hartford in Colorado, rather than Connecticut. We regret the error.
This article was originally published Aug. 22, 2014. You can support net neutrality by participating in the Internet Slowdown Day.
Photo via Chris Potter (CC BY 2.0)
