Getty Images
When trying to rebuild from a devastating hurricane, there are some necessities that people can’t live without. Things like water, food, shelter, electricity …and Hot Pockets?
Newark Mayor Cory Booker is known for his hands-on, good-humored and tireless social media-driven responsiveness to problems that affect his Newark residents. As the city struggles to rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Booker is doing his best to ensure that residents of his city have what they need to get by, or at least the knowledge that their mayor is listening. If it’s an issue he can’t dispatch someone to help with, he’ll probably just come over himself to do it — we’re talking about the man who rescued his neighbor from her burning house, after all.
During Sandy, he’s helped to dispatch repair crews, has provided frequent updates on road and school closures, and even offered up his own house to the Newark residents without electricity, all via his very active Twitter account. (According to Gothamist, Booker averaged 100 tweets per day from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1.) There is the rare problem Booker can’t solve, but truly, such cases are the exception.
When one of his city dwellers tweeted that he was running low on Hot Pockets, the social media-savvy mayor felt his pain, but couldn’t offer the man a cure for his ailment.
[tweet https://twitter.com/CoryBooker/status/264022914922323969%5D
While Humes may have gone without his beloved handheld sandwiches for a few days, that was far from the end of his food predicament. Hot Pockets empathized and didn’t want him — and other Hot Pockets fans — to go without. That, or the microwaveable snack maker, which is owned by Swiss conglomerate Nestle, knows a good marketing opportunity when they see one. They sent a letter to Mayor Booker offering up hundreds of coupons for free Hot Pockets to Newark residents:
[tweet https://twitter.com/CoryBooker/status/266318057532694530%5D
Yes, even in the middle of rebuilding from a disastrous hurricane, Cory Booker, social media, and Hot Pockets pack some serious heat (hopefully inside a flaky-yet-chewy crust).
[tweet https://twitter.com/CoryBooker/status/266317334791204864%5D
The good deed was welcomed by many, but still, there were those that set out to criticize the mayor in the face of Newark’s devastation, turning one man’s penchant for frozen snacks into a politicized issue. Leave it to “Supermayor” to tweet a dose of humor toward the hater:
[tweet https://twitter.com/CoryBooker/status/266330948742828032%5D
If Booker does decide to run against New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in the 2013 gubernatorial election, there’s little doubt that he’s already cornered the Hot Pocket-fan demographic.
MORE: Cory Booker Cements His Reputation as Newark ‘Super Mayor,’ Lets Sandy Victims Crash at His House
MORE: Newark Mayor Cory Booker Saves Neighbor from Burning Building