CVF-NEWS

1998 Archive


CVF-NEWS is a free, electronic newsletter published by the California Voter Foundation. CVF-NEWS features news and updates about democracy and the Internet, emphasizing activities taking place in California. Please fill out our online form to receive your free subscription to CVF-NEWS!

Below is an archive of past CVF-NEWS updates. We will endeavor to archive new updates at this index page as quickly as possible. Remember: an email subscription to CVF-NEWS is the best way to ensure that you receive this newsletter on a timely basis.



December 28, 1998

RE: Gray Davis' Inaugural Festivities

In just a few days, Gray Davis will be inaugurated as California's new governor. Davis' inauguration marks the first time California's had a new governor in 8 years, and the first time a Democrat has governed the state in 16 years. This edition of CVF-NEWS covers this historic event. (continued)



December 23, 1998

RE: Help Make CVF's Holiday Wishes Come True!

Most folks dream of a white Christmas, but we here at the California Voter Foundation are hoping for a green one! You can help make our holiday dreams come true by donating to CVF. It's fast, it's simple, and it's tax-deductible! And, it would really mean a lot to us.(continued)


December 14, 1998

RE: Please welcome Amanda Bohl to the CVF staff!

I'm very pleased to announce that CVF has hired Amanda Bohl as our new Membership Director! With Amanda's hiring, CVF staff has grown from two full-time to three full-time staff members (a 50% increase! :) ) You can write to Amanda at amanda@calvoter.org and join us in welcoming her to the CVF staff! For more information please read our news release.



December 4, 1998

RE: Internet statistics, D.C. conference

I'm heading off to Washington, D.C. this weekend to participate in the Politics Online conference sponsored by George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management. In preparation for the conference, Saskia Mills and I have updated our popular Internet and Voting Statistics list, available on the Web at http://www.calvoter.org/pr/statistics.html.

As you'll see in the list, CVF's General Election 1998 voter guide logged a total of 450,000 page views over a six-week period, more than twice the number of pages viewed during the 1996 General Election. Overall, CVF's web sites logged one million page views throughout 1998, and over 100,000 visits. That's not bad for a small, young non-profit with just two (soon be to be three) full time staff!

More information about the Politics Online conference is available at http://www.gspm.org/politicsonline.



November 25, 1998


RE: $285 million raised by statewide campaigns

The California Voter Foundation tracked campaign contributions made to statewide candidates and ballot measure campaigns throughout the 1998 election. Our research shows that a total of $90 million was raised by statewide candidates between January 1 - November 3, 1998. In addition, a total of $195 million was raised by November 1998 ballot measure campaigns. Below is a summary of how much each statewide campaign raised. (continued)



November 20, 1998

RE: CA Defense of Marriage Act, Final Election Results and more

In this edition of CVF-NEWS:

* California Defense of Marriage Act Qualifies for 2000 Primary Ballot
* Bill Jones wins re-election; Prop. 10 passes
* Still plenty of time to become a CVF charter member! (continued)



November 17, 1998


RE: California Voters and the 2000 Presidential Primary

As many of you have probably heard in recent news stories, California's 2000 Primary election is developing into a confusing and potentially difficult situation for California voters.

Basically, two things have happened: first, the California Legislature recently passed and Governor Wilson signed a new law moving California's 2000 Primary election to March 7th, making California one of the earliest states to hold a primary. That's good news or bad news depending on who you talk to.....(continued)



November 6, 1998

RE: Summary of CA Election results

California election officials are still counting hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots, and election returns on the Secretary of State's web site are being updated twice a day. Below is a summary of the outcome of the statewide races and measures, as of Friday, November 6, 4:37 p.m. FYI, the absolute, final vote will be published by the Secretary of State on Dec. 12, 1998. (continued)



November 6, 1998

RE: Jesse Ventura Credits Net for Victory

Lots of people have been wondering whether the Internet might cause an upset in a 1998 race. Apparently, this was the case in Minnesota, where Reform Party candidate Jesse Ventura won the Governor's race. Here is the scoop from New York Times' Cybertimes reporter Rebecca Fairley Raney: http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/11/cyber/articles/06campaign.html. Enjoy!



November 4, 1998

RE: What's next? Join CVF!

Today the California Voter Foundation launches a drive to recruit 1,000 charter members of the California Voter Foundation!

You can help us reach this goal AND have your name listed on CVF's Charter Members Page, where you will forever be recognized for your support for the California Voter Foundation.

For more information about our recruitment drive, please visit:

http://www.calvoter.org/membership



November 3, 1998


RE: Election results online; election night interviews

You can find election results on the Internet through CVF's web site!

We have published a new page that links to returns from the Secretary of State (including California propositions, and statewide, legislative and congressional races, plus Supreme Court and Court of Appeals results).

In addition, we're offering links to the 27 of California's 58 counties that are posting local returns on the Net. You'll also find a link to the Web, White and Blue returns site, which features returns from across the country. (continued)



October 31, 1998

RE: Top 10 Contibutors to Statewide Candidates as of 10/17/98

Here it is, what you've all been waiting for.....

The Top Ten Contributors to Statewide Candidates!

The California Voter Foundation has compiled a list of the Top Ten Contributors to major-party statewide candidates, as of October 17th, 1998. In addition, we have updated our Top Ten Contributors to California Propositions list through October 29, 1998. (As of 10/29, a total of $188 million had been raised by all proposition campaigns.)

CVF's Top Ten Contributors lists are published on the Internet in "Follow the Money", part of CVF's California Online Voter Guide. To search or browse all contributions made to statewide campaigns since July 1st, visit the CVF/Compaq Campaign Contribution Database, which is being updated daily with new late contribution data from the Secretary of State's site. You can visit all these resources directly at:

http://www.calvoter.org/98general/followthemoney

(continued)



October 30, 1998

RE: CVF urges voters to "hit mute, log on & get informed"

Here is a release we issued today providing an up-to-date roundup of all the great information available right now at www.calvoter.org. We'd truly appreciate it if you would pass this along to as many people as possible. If you are a newspaper editor or reporter, please consider including our web site in your election news packages. Many thanks!



October 28, 1998


RE: Top Ten Contributors to CA Propositions thru 10/17/98

Here is a list of the Top Ten Contributors in support of or in opposition to the 12 California propositions on the November ballot, as October 17, 1998. This list identifies the contributors who have given the most since the campaign was first organized -- in some cases, this may include records from 1997. The list includes cash contributions, as well as non-monetary contributions and loans, and is available online in the "Follow the Money" section of CVF's online voter guide.

This Top Ten Contributors list is made possible because of a new law that requires campaigns to disclose their contributions in a digital format. Thanks to this new law and the Internet, the California Voter Foundation
can instantly publish and share the latest contribution data. For the first time in history, voters can easily find out who's backing propositions before casting their ballots. (continued)



October 26, 1998


RE: Follow the Money: Update, in the news

Today's New York Times' Cybertimes features a story by Rebecca Fairley Raney about all the great new campaign contribution information available on the Internet this election season. A copy of the story is below.

I'm happy to inform you that many of the most recent disclosure reports filed by statewide candidates and ballot measure campaigns (covering Oct. 1 - 17) are now available in the CVF/Compaq Campaign Contribution Database. Reports for candidates who filed with Secretary of State Bill Jones' voluntary electronic filing program are now up and available on his site as well. Many skeptics doubted that candidates would voluntarily file their data on the Internet -- in fact, half of the major-party statewide candidates have done just that! We congratulate them all, as well as the Secretary of State's office, which is doing a fantastic job of keeping their late contribution data updated as well.

You can find links to all these resources in the "Follow the Money" section of CVF's California Online Voter Guide.



October 23, 1998

RE: Top Ten Contributors to CA Props thru 9/30/98

To help California voters make informed choices on November 3, the California Voter Foundation is tracking the Top Ten Contributors to California ballot measure campaigns and statewide candidates.

Here is a list of the Top Ten Contributors in support of or in opposition to the 12 California propositions on the November ballot, as of September 30, 1998. This list identifies the contributors who have given the most since the campaign was first organized -- in some cases, this may include records from 1997. The list includes cash contributions, as well as non-monetary contributions and loans, and will also be published in the "Follow the Money" section of CVF's online voter guide, at http://www.calvoter.org. (continued)



October 21, 1998

RE: Late contributions are now online!

I'm happy to inform you that the Secretary of State's office began publishing late contribution reports on their web site yesterday!

As you may recall, California law requires that all statewide and legislative candidates, as well as ballot measure campaigns, disclose contributions of $1,000 or more received in the final two weeks of the election season within 24 hours to the Secretary of State. Though the law requires immediate disclosure, the paper reports were traditionally made available to the public in the Secretary of State's office in Sacramento, where only a handful of reporters typically viewed the records.

All that has changed, thanks to the California Voter Foundation, the California Legislature, and the Secretary of State. (continued)



October 19, 1998

RE: California Campaign Web Site Index

As you know, the California Voter Foundation compiles and maintains links to all California statewide, legislative and congressional campaign web sites. Every election, we contact California candidates and ask them to send us their campaign web site addresses. These addresses are linked to from the pages of our California Online Voter Guide, which serves as a giant directory of California campaign web sites.

Saskia Mills, CVF's Managing Director, has compiled a California Campaign Web Site Index that features the names and urls for every campaign web site linked to from our voter guide. (Note: this list does not include urls for local campaigns.) Please excuse the length of this email message -- it is a very long list, with nearly two hundred entries. Web sites are grouped by contest and then by the candidates' last names.

The California Voter Foundation congratulates all of the candidates and campaigns that are publishing information on the Internet. Thanks to them, California voters have a wealth of helpful voter information at their fingertips. Happy surfing!



October 15, 1998

RE: Tonight's 4th and final Governor's Debate

The fourth and final debate between gubernatorial candidates Gray Davis and Dan Lungren will be held this evening (Thursday, October 15) from 7 - 8 p.m. The debate is sponsored by KGO-TV, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and the San Francisco Labor Council/AFL-CIO, and is being held at San Francisco State University.

Several TV, radio and cable stations, as well as Internet sites, will offer live coverage of tonight's debate, including... (continued)



October 14, 1998

RE: Internet Database Helps Voters Follow the Money

We're very pleased to announce the debut of the 1998 California Campaign Contribution Database, a joint project of the California Voter Foundation and Compaq's Network Systems Lab in Palo Alto. Please see today's news release for more information. Also available is a summary of the campaigns currently featured in the database.



October 11, 1998

RE: Online Disclosure Status Report

This edition of CVF-NEWS provides a status report on the California Voter Foundation's "Follow the Money" efforts to ensure timely Internet access to statewide campaign contributions for the 1998 General Election cycle.

This report includes an update on the the Secretary of State's Electronic Filing program; a list of the statewide campaigns that filed their disclosure reports on computer disk in an ASCII format; an update on the status of CVF and Compaq's efforts to construct an Internet database of statewide campaign contributions; and a status report on CVF's plans to update our list of Top Ten Contributors to statewide candidates and ballot measure campaigns. (continued)



October 6, 1998

RE: CA Online Voter Guide Debuts!

The California Voter Foundation's new California Online Voter Guide is now available on the Internet! See our news release for more information, and please stop by and visit our site as soon as you can and let us know what you think.



October 6, 1998

RE: PBS' Thirty Second Candidate TV Documentary

So sorry for the email deluge but this is a busy time here at CVF....I wanted to alert you to a new PBS television documentary, called the 30-Second Candidate, which begins airing on PBS stations nationwide this evening. The hour-long documentary examines the state of modern-day campaign advertising, and features an interview with yours truly about the growing influence of the Internet in political campaigns.

The show airs tonight (Oct. 6th) on KVIE in Sacramento at 11 p.m. It may be showing at a different time on your local PBS station this evening, or it might air next week on October 13 - check your local listings.

More information about the program is featured below. (continued)



October 5, 1998


RE: California Online Voter Guide to debut 10/6

Tomorrow is the big day we've all been waiting for.....the launch of CVF's latest and greatest California Online Voter Guide! See the media advisory for more information.



September 22, 1998

RE: Tomorrow's governor's debate

Tomorrow, Dan Lungren, the Republican Party's candidate for Governor, and Gray Davis, the Democratic Party's candidate, will meet and debate in Sacramento. This is the third of five debates between the two major party candidates for Governor in the 1998 General Election campaign season.

The hour-long debate begins at 6 p.m. and will be held at California State University, Sacramento. The debate is sponsored by CSUS, the California Business Roundtable and the California Chamber of Commerce. This debate will follow the format of the previous two debates and will include questions from three journalists -- Scott Lindlaw of the Associate Press, Jack Kavanagh of California CapitolWeek, and Amy Chance of the Sacramento Bee. (continued)



September 21, 1998

RE: More free airtime for CA candidates

As the debate over free airtime for political candidates rages on, one California cable company, San Diego-based Daniels Cablevision Inc. is giving Californiaís U.S. Senate candidates and congressional candidates in their area the chance to air their commercials on the cable station's channels for free.

Today's San Jose Mercury News features a front page story by staff writer Tracy Seipel about this unprecedented move. Her story also points out that Daniels Cablevision sought and won approval from the Federal Communications Commission to make the offer without having the free time count as a nonmonetary contribution. This also appears to be an unprecedented decision, and hopefully will clear the way for more broadcasters to provide free time to candidates without fear that it would be classified as a corporate political donation.

More details and commentary are provided in the Mercury News story, which also discusses the California Channel's Free Airtime Project and the Alliance for Better Campaigns' efforts. Hopefully we are beginning to see a new trend developing!



September 18, 1998


RE: Career Opportunity with CVF

CVF is now hiring! The California Voter Foundation is now accepting applications for our new position of Membership Director. Below is the job announcement. As you will see, this is a special job that will require a very special person. You can help CVF by circulating this announcement far and wide! This position is open until filled, but we do hope to hire someone soon, so please share this announcement with anyone who you think may be interested ASAP.



September 11, 1998

RE: CVF awarded two major grants!

I'm very pleased to share with you a news release we issued today, announcing that CVF has received two major grants from the Gerbode Foundation and Joyce Foundation. With this new funding, CVF will soon hire our third full-time staff person who will serve as membership director. More details about our forthcoming membership program will be included in future editions of CVF-NEWS.



August 26, 1998

RE: Free Air Time for Statewide Candidates

I'm very pleased to announce the Free Air Time Project, sponsored by the California Channel, in partnership with the California Voter Foundation and the League of Women Voters of California.

The Free Air Time Project gives every statewide candidate five minutes of air time on the California Channel. 60 of the 72 statewide candidates participated in the project, and sat down for five minute interviews with representatives of the League of Women Voters and myself. This pioneering voter education effort puts all candidates from all parties on a level playing field and ensures that millions of California voters have a chance to hear and watch the candidates answer questions first-hand.

More information about the Free Air Time Project is in the news release. The California Voter Foundation is honored to be a part of this innovative and important experiment in voter education, and we applaud the California cable industry for setting such an excellent example of what the private sector can do to improve the quality of electoral politics in California.



August 25, 1998

RE: Fong/Boxer Debate

Tomorrow (Wednesday, August 26th), U.S. Senate candidates Barbara Boxer (Democrat) and Matt Fong (Republican) will meet for the first in a series of scheduled debates during the Fall election season.

Tomorrow's debate is sponsored by KCAL TV in Los Angeles, and will be held at the station's studios. The debate will be aired live on KCAL from noon - 1 p.m., and is not available for broadcast on any other Los Angeles TV stations. We have not been able to get a definite answer on whether other TV or cable stations outside of the L.A. market will be permitted to air the debate live or tape-delayed.

We do know that in the Bay Area, Bay TV is planning to air the debate, which will also be webcast on the Gate's web site, at http://www.sfgate.com. KCAL plans to webcast the debate from their Web site as well, which is located at http://www.kcal9.com. KQED FM's California Report will also air the debate live and make it available to public radio stations across the state.

The debate will be moderated by Pat Harvey, and will features questions from a panel of three journalists -- Dave Bryan, political reporter for KCAL TV; Rick Orlov, reporter for the Daily News - Los Angeles; and Michelle DeArmond from the Associated Press.



August 24, 1998

RE: CVF in the News

The California Voter Foundation has been in the news many times over the past few weeks. We've compiled a round-up of recent news coverage, including pieces from National Public Radio, the San Francisco Examiner, the San Jose Mercury News, the Washington Post, the Orange County Register and the Ventura County Star, as well as an excellent newsletter article from the Center for Responsive Politics.

These stories, as you'll see, cover a wide array of topics -- the Internet's role in politics, the California gubernatorial debates, Internet voting, and electronic filing of campaign finance data.

Happy reading!



August 18, 1998

RE: Tonight's Lungren/Davis Debate

This evening, gubernatorial candidates Gray Davis (Democrat) and Dan Lungren (Republican) will meet in Fresno for their second debate of this campaign season.

Tonight's debate will be held from 7 - 8 p.m. at California State University, Fresno, and is being sponsored by KFSN-TV of Fresno, the Fresno Bee, the Western Growers Association, the Fresno City and County Convention and Visitors Bureau, and CSU Fresno. (continued)



August 14, 1998

RE: My summer school course at UC Davis

This week, I began teaching a six-week course on California Politics at the University of California, Davis. The course is part of the California Voter Foundation's continuing partnership with UC Davis' Department of Political Science.

The 25 students enrolled in my class will be publishing their work on the Internet, and it will later be incorporated into CVF's forthcoming Fall 1998 California Online Voter Guide. The students will be learning about California's political disclosure process, for example, and summarizing the top contributors to statewide candidate and ballot measure campaigns.

Here is my course outline, including required books for the course and recommendations for further study and activities that you may find useful. CVF-NEWS subscribers are also welcome to join us for class lectures. If you are interested in attending one of my classes, please let me know so it can be arranged.-- KA



July 30, 1998


RE: Tomorrow's governor's debate, more air time for candidates

The first major debate between California's major-party gubernatorial candidates will be held tomorrow in San Diego. This edition of CVF-NEWS provides background information on tomorrow's debate, as well as a partial list of the news outlets that plan to carry the debate live. Also covered in this issue is a "sneak preview" of the California Channel's interviews with statewide candidates and a status report on the Alliance for Better Campaign's efforts in California. (continued)



July 29, 1998

RE: CVF in the News -- NY Times, SJ Merc

Below are two recently published stories I thought you might enjoy reading. The first is a column by Sue Hutchison, which appeared in yesterday's San Jose Mercury News. The column is about an idea I have been kicking around every since the June Primary to give voters a third choice on ballot measures -- we could vote "Yes", "No", or "I Don't Know". Apparently the idea is picking up some steam. I've had many interesting discussions about this idea over the past few weeks, and welcome your comments as well.

The second article is by Rebecca Fairley Raney, published last week in the New York Times' Cybertimes. Raney's story looks at the role that email lists are playing in politics and campaigns, and features many interesting examples of how politicians are effectively using technology.



July 24, 1998

RE: November 1998 California Ballot Propositions

Welcome to the wonderful world of the November 1998 California ballot! It's never too early to start preparing for the next election, and given the complexity of the measures that will appear on the November ballot, it would be a good idea to start your homework right away.

The California Voter Foundation is still collecting and compiling information on the statewide ballot measures, which will be featured in the fifth edition of CVF's award-winning California Online Voter Guide, scheduled to debut next month. In the meantime, we've prepared a brief summary for each of the 10 measures that will appear on the November 3, 1998 California ballot, when voters will be asked to make decisions on a wide range of issues -- everything from horsemeat consumption to Indian gaming to electric utilities. You'll find these summaries at:

http://www.calvoter.org/98general/measures.html

(continued)



July 10, 1998


RE: Digital sunlight news

Today I have two items to share with you. First, there is a new report from the Center for Responsive Politics available on the Web that provides a state-by-state update on the status of digital disclosure of campaign finance data. It's an excellent, thorough overview and we are really grateful to Marian Currinder and the staff at CRP for preparing this much-needed report. (continued)



June 29, 1998

RE: A New Kind of Party Animal

I'm pleased to announce a new book that is arriving in bookstores now which features my work with the California Voter Foundation. "A New Kind of Party Animal: How the Young Are Tearing Up the American Political Landscape" is authored by Michele Mitchell and uses my work, along with several other "Generation X'ers" to dispel the popular image of American young people as disengaged, apolitical "slackers". (continued)



June 24, 1998

RE: GREAT new source for congressional $$ info!

There is a new, excellent source for congressional campaign finance data available on the Internet. The Center for Responsive Politics has created new campaign finance profiles for every candidate running for congress this year. I tried out this new feature on their web site and was really impressed by how easy it is to use. You can find out all kinds of information about the money raised by this year's congressional candidates -- CRP's new Candidate Profiles offers up detailed data using easy-to-read bar graphs and pie charts. CRP will be updating these profiles on a monthly basis. It is the latest, greatest and hottest new source of congressional campaign finance data, and I encourage you to check their site and and discover all the new info that's now available, thanks to the good folks at the Center for Responsive Politics. (continued)



June 16, 1998


RE: Announcing the Alliance for Better Campaigns

With the California Primary now behind us, the California Voter Foundation is now making plans for the November General Election. Among the many activities we have in store is our participation in the Alliance for Better Campaigns' efforts to improve political news coverage of politics.

The Alliance for Better Campaigns is a new organization created by Paul Taylor, former reporter for the Washington Post, co-chaired by Jimmy Carter, Walter Cronkite and Gerald Ford and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Some of you may remember Taylor's efforts to promote better news coverage of the 1996 Presidential Election. His new organization is off to a great start, and has the potential to make a strong, positive impact on the quality and quantity of news coverage available to voters. (continued)



June 3, 1998

RE: CVF is back on line

Some of you may have had trouble getting to our web site at www.calvoter.org last night and this morning. That's because our Internet service provider, Webcom, took our site down at 12:18 a.m. this morning due to the incredible volume of traffic to our site over the past few days. Unfortunately, this occurred despite the fact that we notified Webcom in advance that we anticipated heavy traffic to our site. Fortunately, CVF's site was up and available throughout Election Day with no interruptions.

We're back up and hope you'll come visit our site again soon. We appreciate your patience and assure you that as we move toward November, we will make every effort to ensure that this never happens again, even if that means changing service providers.



June 2, 1998

RE: Pulling the Plug on Political Spam

This is the best news I've heard yet this election season -- the folks who were planning to send political spam to half a million California households abandoned their plan at the last minute, due to overwhelming criticism, controversy and a fear on the part of the candidates whose names were to appear in this so-called "electronic slate" put together by a San Francisco Democratic political consultant.

Their decision represents a huge victory for those of us working to make the Internet a safe place for political discourse. Now, if only we could convince those consultants who create the misleading printed slate mailers that have landed in our U.S. mailboxes to do the same! Read Rebecca Fairley Raney's excellent story from today's New York Times' Cybertimes for the full scoop.



June 2, 1998

RE: Live Election Returns on the Internet

Once again, the California Secretary of State's office will offer live election returns on their Web site, as they have done consistently since 1994. In addition, 24 of California's 58 counties will feature election returns on their Web sites as well -- a huge increase since the 1996 General Election, when just 8 California counties provided online returns.

CVF's California Online Voter Guide provides links to all online election returns -- you will find our Election Returns page at:

http://www.calvoter.org/98primary/returns.html

In addition, several news organizations are offering local returns on their web sites, too. CVF is currently compiling a list of those news organizations, and will feature links to those sites as well on our Election Returns page. We don't want to leave anyone out, so please contact us if you would like to make sure your organization's election returns are featured in our site.

The California Voter Foundation applauds and congratulates the state and county elections offices and news organizations who are providing this wonderful and convenient service to the voters of California!



June 1, 1998

RE: Daily Summaries of Late Contributions now available from CVF

We are very happy announce that daily summaries of late contributions are now featured on our California Online Voter Guide web site! We have posted daily reports of late contributions made and received between May 17 - May 27th, and believe you will find our summaries a convenient companion to the Secretary of State's online records. To view the daily summaries of the late contributions, go to:

http://www.calvoter.org/98primary/cfdata.html

Our daily summaries were created by CVF board member Ray Kiddy, whose endless technical talents never cease to amaze me. In this case, he created a script that drills down into the Secretary of State's online late contribution reports, extracts the data and presents it in a daily format that makes it easy to see the big picture of how much money is coming into the campaigns in these final two weeks.

We will update our online daily summaries as quickly as possible. Please be advised that some of the daily summaries may not include late contribution reports that were added to the Secretary of State's site at a later date.



May 29, 1998

RE: Last-minute tips for California voters

I've compiled some last minute voting tips that provide some suggestions to help voters prepare to make informed choices on June 2. These tips are available on our online voter guide, at

http://www.calvoter.org/98primary/tips.html.

Please feel free to forward this tip sheet to others. It is also available for republication -- please contact me if you are interested.



May 27, 1998


RE: California Journal reviews now online!

I'm pleased to announce that CVF's 1998 Primary Online Voter Guide now features articles and analysis from the California Journal! The California Journal is a monthly, non-partisan magazine providing independent, non-ideological analysis of California government and politics since 1970. The California Journal has contributed its excellent, candid analysis of California election issues to the California Voter Foundation's online voter guides since 1994, and visitors to our online guide have come to greatly appreciate this wonderful source of independent information on the races and measures.

Since we launched our guide on May 5th, we have added lots of new content and links to the site. Below is a rundown of what's currently available from CVF's 1998 California Primary Online Voter Guide, which you can find on the Internet at http://www.calvoter.org. (continued)



May 26, 1998

RE: Help spread the word about CVF's voter guide!

Want to help your fellow Californians make informed choices on June 2? You can help by spreading the word about CVF's 1998 California Primary Online Voter Guide!

Because CVF is a low-budget operation, we rely on our friends and supporters to help publicize our voter guide. Here are a few things you can do to help. (continued)



May 21, 1998

RE: Late contributions NOW ONLINE!

Great news!

You can now access late contributions and independent expenditure reports online, through the Secretary of State's web site at http://www.ss.ca.gov.

Long-time CVF-NEWS subscribers will no doubt recall CVF's very popular "Late Contribution Watch" project of 1996, where we data-entered the last minute contributions on laptops at the Secretary of State's office, uploaded daily summaries to our online voter guide, and emailed the reports to CVF-NEWS subscribers. Our project was codified into law under SB 49, California's new mandatory online disclosure law that requires the Secretary of State to disclose late contributions on the Internet.

The California Voter Foundation has published a new page in our 1998 Primary Online Voter Guide featuring more information about what's available now, what's to come in the future, and links to currently-available online data. You can find this new page at http://www.calvoter.org/98primary/cfdata.html.

We also issued a news release today praising Secretary of State Bill Jones and his staff for this grand achievement.



May 19, 1998


RE: My diary for Slate magazine

I've been invited to keep an online diary this week for Slate Magazine. Each day, I'm writing a diary entry describing what I'm doing in my job as President of the California Voter Foundation. The list of past Slate diarist includes James Fallows, Bill Gates, David Sedaris, Douglas Coupland, among many others. Needless to say, I'm flattered that the editors of Slate think my life and work is interesting enough to merit a daily log in their online magazine. Hopefully they'll feel the same way when the week is over!

Below is my first entry, which was posted to the site yesterday. (continued)




May 15, 1998


RE: California propositions campaign finance data on the NET

Great news! The Secretary of State has published a campaign finance report for the June 1998 state ballot measures. The report features summaries of the total raised for and against each measure, and itemizes contributions received by the ballot measure campaign committees of $10,000 or more. The new report covers fundraising through March 17, 1998 and is available on the Secretary of State's web site.(continued)



May 12, 1998


RE: CA goes "multimedia" for first gubernatorial candidate forum

In this land where politics and technology seem to intersect everywhere you turn, it should surprise no one that the state's first major candidates' forum will be a multimedia affair.

Tomorrow, four candidates for Governor - Democrats Gray Davis, Jane Harman and Al Checchi, and Republican Dan Lungren - will take part in a public forum sponsored by the Los Angeles Times. This forum is the only major public exchange between these candidates scheduled to take place prior to the June 2nd election, and will be broadcast live on many TV, cable and radio stations across the state. The LA Times is also "webcasting" the event, providing a live audio and video feed from their web site. This edition of CVF-NEWS provides background information on tomorrow's event, a list of stations planning to air the event, and details about what will be available on the Internet and what you'll need to view or hear the debate online tomorrow.
(continued)



May 8, 1998


RE: CVF's Internet & Voting Statistics

Here is a list of fascinating statistics we recently compiled. I thought this would be of interest and useful to many of our subscribers. Enjoy! (continued)



May 5, 1998


RE: 1998 California Online Voter Guide Debuts on the Net!

I'm pleased to announce that the 1998 California Online Voter Guide is now up and available to the public! Here is the release we issued today at our news conference/grand opening here at the new CVF headquarters. Enjoy! (continued)



April 28, 1998


RE: SJ Merc News: Cybertechnology is reshaping CA elections

Here is a story by Phil Trounstine that ran on the front page of yesterday's San Jose Mercury News. This story is one of the best reviews I've yet seen on the impact the Internet is having on California's electoral process this year. The story features quotes from yours truly, along with many others involved in shaping this exploding field. Enjoy! (continued)



April 28, 1998

RE: New digs for the California Voter Foundation

Time to update your rolodexes and Palm Pilots........

The California Voter Foundation has moved to new offices! We are now located at:

2401 L Street, Second Floor
Sacramento, CA 95816

Our phone number is the same - (916) 325-2120.
Our fax number has been changed to (916) 325-0444. (continued)



April 15, 1998

RE: Please welcome Saskia Mills, CVF's new Managing Director

I am SO pleased to be sending you the announcement below. Please join me in welcoming the California Voter Foundation's new Managing Director, Ms. Saskia Mills! You can find out more about Saskia in the announcement below, and you can write to her via email at saskia@calvoter.org. (continued)




April 2, 1998

RE: Update on online Calif. election and disclosure info

This edition of CVF-NEWS features an announcement about the Secretary of State's new Primary '98 Election Web site, a review of the status of electronic filing and online disclosure; a sneak peek at what CVF has planned for our new California Online Voter Guide, and a review of what CVF already has available on our '98 Election Preview site. (continued)



March 13, 1998

RE: CVF in the news

Below is a story by Craig Menefee that appeared last week in the Newsbytes News Network. It features some of my observations about what we can expect from campaigns on the 'net this year. (continued)



March 5, 1998

RE: Sixty percent of CA candidates NOW ONLINE!

I'm pleased to announce that our web site now features UPDATED information on this year's statewide candidates and measures. We have compiled the information collected by the Secretary of State and you can now find at the calvoter web site a listing of the 97 candidates who have filed declarations for U.S. Senate, Governor and the seven other statewide offices. The list also includes addresses, phone numbers, and hyperlinked email and web site addresses for these candidates.

I was astonished and delighted to discover that already SIXTY PERCENT of California's statewide candidates have campaign web sites, and ONE-THIRD of those candidates have their own domains! Nearly every ballot measure campaign also has its own web site and domain already. (continued)



February 24, 1998


RE: Hotwired features CVF in "Dream Jobs"!

I'm very happy to share with all of you this article from the kind people at Hotwired who have chosen to profile CVF's Managing Director position in their "Dream Jobs" feature of the Hotwired web site. The story will also provide information for you about my plans for CVF's future and this election season. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did! (continued)



February 16, 1998


RE: Updates: CVF's election site, job opening & CFP98

This edition of CVF-NEWS will provide an update on what you can now find at CVF's 1998 election site; an update on our search for a new managing director; and a word or two about my plans to attend this week's Computers, Freedom & Privacy conference. (continued)



February 8, 1998

RE: CA legislation introduced to re-enact some of Prop. 208

I thought many of you would find this news release from Senator Betty Karnette of interest. She has introduced legislation to re-enact major portions of Proposition 208, the successful 1996 California initiative that enacted strict new campaign finance laws and was recently invalidated by a federal court judge.

Her bill, SB 304, would re-enact portions of Prop. 208 that weren't of concern to Judge Lawrence Karlton -- specifically, allowing candidates to place statements and photos in ballot pamphlets, and requiring better disclosure of initiative funding. (continued)



January 28, 1998

RE: Career Opportunity with CVF

Here it is....the career opportunity of a lifetime! The California Voter Foundation is now accepting applications for our new position of Managing Director. Below is the job announcement. As you will see, this is a special job that will require a very special person. You can help CVF by circulating this announcement far and wide! The deadline to apply is February 20th, so please share this announcement with anyone who you think may be interested ASAP. Many thanks! (continued)



January 26, 1998

RE: say "hi" to the new prez of CVF

Although the shine may have worn off the title a bit over the past week, I am nonetheless pleased to announce that the California Voter Foundation's Board of Directors has elected yours truly to be President of the California Voter Foundation. (continued)



January 23, 1998

RE: California candidate filing deadlines are approaching!

Have you ever thought about running for office? Do you know someone who you think would be a good candidate? Well, the time to act is now because there has never been a better time for new players to enter California's political playing field. This edition of CVF-NEWS provides some background information on why California politics is going through such a profound shake-up period, along with important dates and deadlines that prospective candidates need to meet in order to qualify for the election. (continued)



January 20, 1998

RE: Feinstein turns down bid for California Governor

Will she or won't she? The wondering is over, folks. Today Dianne Feinstein announced that she will not be entering the California governor's race this year. Her announcement today ends months of speculation and leaves some uncertainty about who will emerge as the Democratic Party's nominee for governor this year. (continued)



January 14, 1998

RE: Yesterday's special elections in California

Yesterday two special elections were held in California -- one in the the 22nd Congressional District, and another in the 46th Assembly District. The edition of CVF-NEWS features a rundown on the election results (which, I've been informed, will be available on the Secretary of State's web site at a later date), voter turnout, and info about California's new open primary law. (continued)



January 12, 1998

RE: California Salary Commission to meet this week

As many of you already know, California has an independent salary commission that establishes the salaries for state elected officials, such as the Governor and members of the State Legislature.

The salary commission (officially titled the California Citizens Compensation Commission) meets regularly to discuss current salaries and take advice and input from members of the public about current and future salary levels. (continued)



January 6, 1998


RE: Federal judge strikes down CA's contribution limits

The decision is in: Judge Lawrence Karlton today struck down Proposition 208, a California initiative passed in November 1996 that severely restricted campaign finance practices. As of today, Proposition 208 is no longer in effect and California politicians are once again permitted to raise contributions of any amount. (continued)



January 6, 1998

RE: Prop. 208 decision online!

After some web surfing and with a lead from one Coby King (thanks, Coby!), I was able to locate a url for Judge Karlton's Prop. 208 decision. (continued)



January 5, 1998

RE: Hola Amigos! Guess who's back in Sac...

I'm back in Sac, back to work with CVF after my five-week adventure in Mexico. I hope everyone had a happy and festive holiday season and that 1998 will be a great year for all of us!...This edition of CVF-NEWS features news bits about recent court decisions, CVF's recent grant awards, and some important upcoming television events. (continued)



November 20, 1997

RE: Adios Amigos! Guess who's off to Mexico.....

I can't believe how quickly the year has flown by! When I made my reservations to study Spanish at the Instituto Cultural Oaxaca in Mexico earlier this year, November 21st seemed so far away. Now, in less two days, I will be traveling to Mexico, where I will spend five weeks studying Spanish, traveling, and taking a much-needed break. (continued)

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This page was first published on November 20, 1997 | Last updated on July 8, 2002
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