San Francisco Mayor Pledges To Start Tweeting To Keep Twitter Around
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee is reaching out to Twitter in the hope of getting the networking giant to keep its headquarters in the city.
KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:
San Francisco's new mayor Ed Lee isn't on Facebook and he doesn't Tweet, but he says he's ready to join Twitter's growing online social network if the company agrees not to take its expansion plans elsewhere.
In addition, he's also ready to talk Twitter tax breaks.
"We could maybe discuss an exemption from the payroll tax for a period of time, that might be helpful," said Lee. "It's under discussion, but clearly there's no commitment yet. We just think that's an attractive part of the deal because they have raised the issue of cost."
Twitter's San Francisco headquarters gives the city platinum credentials in the high tech world, not to mention hundreds of jobs. There are now about 350 Twitter employees in the city, and Lee says that's expected to grow to 650.
"I think we're doing everything we can to offer some incentives," said Lee. We don't have any deals yet, but we've certainly made a strong effort, and I know they know that."
Mayor Lee says he hopes to meet with top Twitter officials by the end of the week to discuss their future housing needs.
(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
