PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
October 16, 2006
Contact: Elliot
Margolies <elliot@communitymediacenter.net>
No
excuses Š itÕs easier than ever to find election information.
The Media Center and the
League of Women Voters want you to know where to look.
Election
day is coming November 7, and too many voters arenÕt paying attention. The last
midterm election in 2002 found nearly 65% of California voters opting out, with
similar percentages in both San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
As
Election Day approaches, mailboxes fill up with fancy campaign literature. With
their lists of endorsements, family photos and attacks on opponents, mailers
are not likely to contain comprehensive information on which to base important
voting decisions. Voters often have no idea what candidates stand for, or the
potential impact of state and local initiatives.
The South San Mateo League of
Women Voters, the Palo Alto League of Women Voters, Foothill College students,
and the Midpeninsula Community Media Center teamed up to produce a series of
candidate forums as well as debates on controversial state propositions and
local measures Š all of which are accessible on the internet and cable TV.
Eighteen races are covered
including East Palo Alto and Menlo Park City Councils, Ravenswood School Board,
Land Use Measure A in Santa Clara County
and local measures regarding evictions and development in East Palo Alto
and Menlo Park respectively. Additionally, there are three debates on
controversial state propositions moderated by Foothill Sociology students.
The cable
TV schedule is available at www.CommunityMediaCenter.net,
along with internet links for those who prefer watching online. Each forum is divided into segments
online. They also appear on the
League of Women Voters website www.SmartVoter.org
that carries additional, comprehensive voter resources.
The
election fare culminates with a live Election Night show focused on
Midpeninsula races. It airs on
cable channel 27 in Atherton, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Palo Alto and
Stanford, beginning at 10 PM, and includes analysis and interviews with
candidates.
These
election resources were made possible with support from the Peninsula Community
Foundation, Hewlett Packard Company, David D. Bohannon Organization, Premier
Properties Management and the Palo Alto Weekly / Palo Alto Online.
With
public forums, cable television programming and voter info online, it is easier
than ever to become informed, and harder to justify sitting this one out.
----------
www.CommunityMediaCenter.net
for cable TV schedule and links to streamed programs.
Or at the League
of Women Voters website www.SmartVoter.org
On election
night, November 7, watch Mid-peninsula results and analysis!
Cable channel 27
at 10pm Š midnight.
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