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Just some random musings .

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

2007 Candidates Take Center Stage ... Online (My Takes)

The following is a comment from Saipan Blogger's Site that I posted. I will post it here in case it gets censored... seeing as how me posting on his blog kind of begs to question the validity of the the "I am dead" line he flung at me.

The follwing is my take on the same 7 sites that Saipan Blogger visited and reviewed and my take on them.


DEAD MAN TALKING:

I pulled up Joe Camacho’s site and it isn't bad. it gives background on him. i wish it had a bit more on what he stand for and what his takes on the issues are. It appears he may still be putting it together. He does have contact info and a couple phone numbers for voters to call him at. He does have a link to his brochure. Great info about the new redistricting. He also talks a bit about his house to house visits and some community info. He also has an online “Donation” that tells you who to send the checks to.

Cinta's website on the other hand, the one Angelo gives the accolades to, has not been updated in 2 years. Do you seriously think that is better than websites that contain up-to-date info? Heck, if I followed this website I would think she is #9 on the ballot. Come on Angelo, I know she is a pal of yours but call it like you see it. Her outdated website has her “We did it” home page. It has a briefly summarized platform. Her resume. Her stance on issues… at least what it was prior to her winning a couple years ago (this I believe has changed). A bunch of Events that happened in 2005 (Angelo you can not seriously think that this was the BEST of all the websites). A ton of endorsements … from prior to the 2005 election (this needs to be updated… do they still support her?… perhaps but we as voters need to know). News from the years 2000 -2004. And lastly a contact form.

Rose has a bunch of photos and the normal vote for me and all the other “running mates” (I am assuming the other candidates under the same political party although her website never states to my knowledge what party that is.). It also has info about a charitable fund and extensive information about her family heritage and who she is related to. I think the site is visually appealing but underneath the façade just perpetuates the political status quo when it comes to voting. She also has a photo gallery. not sure what firefox browser Angelo is using. I downloaded the latest (for geek use only) Firefox browser and the site load and looked fine. There is a snippet of code that displays in the footer but not anything that would prevent you from viewing or navigating the site.

I differ again from your take in regards to Fred’s site. You only point out your issues with his URL and say you don’t want to comment on blogs. Fred’s site it is one of the few that contains all the basic elements I would be looking for in a site for any of the candidates. It has his background and resume, his platform and stance on issues (whether I stand with him or not), a blog for citizen’s commentary (a bit more activity here would be good), an event calendar, voter information, important links and his contact info. It seems to have up to date info. As with Rose’s site he does have a section for the familial connections… but such is the CNMI and there are voters who need to know who is mother-in-law is… I guess?

Tina’s site as Fred’s has all the necessary elements I believe are needed for a website about a candidate. She lists her background and contrary to what you say her resume is linked. She has an event calendar (seems to need some work as it is hard to see). She has a link to voter info and a sample 2007 precinct 1 ballot. There are links and various methods for people to contact her. She also has a blog and what a content filled one it is (I could not read through everything yet). She posts about all the issues that citizens have brought up in her meetings with them and what they have shared with her and then she gives a personal stance and comment on each and every issue. She actually has another blog that she also links to; the CNMI Forums site that she has been running for some time it appears. This blog has some good commentary on all things politico in the CNMI. I have been an avid reader (and commenter) of this blog for months. Her site is also very aesthetically pleasing. As for the Firfox compatibility issues, there was a minor one pixel shif ton the right hand side on the background image. Not enough to deem it unreadable. It only occured on the home page the other pages showed up fine.

Clyde’s site also has the main info voters should be looking for. It has is platform and stances on various issues. It has his background and links to news and other sites. Because he was once up no the hill, he also lists his past record of what he did up there for voters to peruse and decide if this is what they want to see more of. Surprisingly there is no Contact info that I could find.

Luis’ site is the only one with a David Lettermanesque Top Ten Reasons to Vote for Me on the home page. His Platform is brief but his past legislation page is very very very long. Again I will have to read over what legislation it is and if he was responsible for each piece or if it is legislation from the senate as a whole. EDIT: I took a peek … tons of resolutions commemorating and recognizing everything and a few resolution and laws to rename streets as well as a few others. He does proudly top list (by number of course…but still) legislation to grant $10 million bucks to the now defunct MPLA (we all know where that money really went). His site also has endorsements from community member (Friends of Angando)… though with only three he may want to switch this to a page of his extended (very extended) family. He also has photos and contact info. He is also on of the few with a contact phone #.



All in all, it is great to see the candidates put up information on the internet for the masses. Some of the factors that stood out to me are:


  • What issues they tackled. Were they touching on the big ones??
  • The depths to which the candidates personally addressed the issues. I wanted to see where they stood. Whether I stood with them or not.
  • What type of contact info they gave (a phone number means they want to speak to you… personally. Only 3 had listed numbers. I did not call to see if they all really worked)
  • Whether the site was currently updated
  • Did they flaunt family connections and prominent community member endorsements
  • Were they selling themselves or what they stood for (I can’t make this sound right… but I hope you get what I mean)

We need to really look at the candidates themselves this year and every election year henceforth. We need to contact these candidates. We need to talk to them. We need to find out if they truly are people we want representing us.

I will get off the soapbox. That is my take on the candidate websites. If there are other candidates out there who have sites that I didn’t touch on please Email me at pragmaticplato at gmail dot com.

2 comments:

Brad Ruszala said...

btw, i was "dead' to him before and i've never been censored...

Bon said...

Am I not worthy of mutual linkage?