 The Struggles Of Advocacy |
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These pages are compiled of a series of articles that I have written in an attempt to promote understanding and solicit empathy for the plight of those that are less fortunate than we are.
In my attempts of changing my community for the better, I have had to learn the hard way - that it is true - some of the "old guard" that comprise what is loosely called the "leadership" of our local community maintain a strong hold on the prevention of positive growth and the nourishment of positive change. The old guard continues, as those that have gone before have set an example that this is the path to success in local politics and social action. I disagree.
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David and Goliath - Together Again On the Campaign Trail
by
Robert Stanford
Election 2009 13 Day Countdown - My Friends Took Bullets For Me
By
Robert Stanford
Election 2009 13 Day Countdown - My Friends Took Bullets For Me
Had a pretty good conversation with Jeff Jardine the other day. He mentioned that I had torn him apart a couple of times on the Modesto Bee Blog Site. Especially the one in which I was disgusted with his sum-up piece regarding Craig Prescott and his family.
I thought this was going to be pay back time. Instead, Joe Cataline seemed to get the brunt of the damage with his professional glamour photo shoots being stretched to the borderline of porn by being displayed on a website with the name "deviant" in it. I know now that I should absolutely not post the "Vote For Stanford" campaign shot with me in a hot tub with the Budweiser girls.
Al Nava had a bullion cube made of his online ox and had the most poignant statements rebroadcast for the umpteenth millionth time. To those that follow Nava - none of this was really news and the story is getting old. There is much more to Al Nava then a few quotes from the internet. So much for the honor of being a Vet.
Dave Geer got his next event advertised and seemed to not understand the difference between voters and non-voters in his district. Very telling on how hard he has worked actually identifying who these people really are. Seems ironic that I know more about District 2's voting base than a well backed candidate actually running in it.
And me? It did not go too bad. I thought it was right on target. Though seldom both sides of the story are given fair and equal treatment by the powers that Modesto Bee, I can't argue with what was said about me. It's very true. And it could have been much worse.
All in all, I guess I feel like a turkey pardoned on Thanksgiving Day. Or a sole survivor. It's a toss up…
Here is the article:
Connected Candidates
By Jeff Jardine
jjardine@modbee.com
last updated: October 22, 2009 12:49:01 AM
During the last presidential campaign, Barack Obama played the Internet as masterfully as Itzhak Perlman plays the violin.
Obama used the cyberworld to generate support across the country, to advance his public appearances and rallies and to get his message out. He used it to recruit and motivate younger voters who get the majority of their information online. Perhaps most significantly, he used it to raise money.
And that worked great in a national campaign. But what about in local elections?
How are candidates employing the Internet and to what benefit?
All but two of the seven vying for the three open Modesto City Council seats have Web pages and use social networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.
Kristin Olsen (District 5), Joe Muratore (District 4) and Jeff Perine (District 4) all have campaign Web sites and make use of the various social networks to promote their campaigns and give voters insights into their personal life.
"The average voter age in Modesto is over 60," Olsen said. "It's a way to reach the other segment of the voting population."
Perine has a clever video campaign ad on YouTube, sending police dogs to the polls to vote for a candidate who campaigns as a strong supporter of the Modesto police.
Muratore claims 400 Facebook friends and, if he wins, plans to use it to keep in touch with younger voters.
"I use it to connect with a certain generation at a time in their lives when they are ready to get involved and get things done," he said.
Same goes for District 4 candidate Robert Stanford, who also blogs regularly on modbee.com's The Hive.
District 2 candidate Dave Geer claims to be the least connected among the candidates. He has a Facebook page, but said he didn't create it himself.
"Maybe my nieces in Connecticut set it up," he said. He signed up for LinkedIn, another social network, "because I wanted to know more about (a particular) person," he said.
Otherwise, "I'm not a big Internet social networking person," Geer said. "I don't think it's all that important in my district. These people don't have the time to spend looking at my Facebook account."
Geer's opponent, Al Nava, however, uses Facebook and Twitter to get his message out and to tell people all they need to know about him. He might shun The Bee by refusing to return typical campaign questionnaires or phone calls, but when it comes to online, he's a classic case of TMI (too much information).
Some of his Twitter postings:
o June 27 - "I'm making Politics sexy, cool, & exciting again!"
o May 6 - "Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to legalize Marijuana! Let him know he has our support by emailing his office."
And a Facebook entry:
o "Fox News should be renamed: 'Douche-bag News.' I already have."
This wasn't a case in which someone left a tape recording going and the candidate didn't know it. He generated these Web gems himself.
Stanford, who is a Web page programmer, said the Internet impact has been "pretty disappointing."
"We're an ag town," he said. "Behind the times. People don't look up the candidates on the Internet."
For the past few years, his blog entries on The Hive have at times been highly critical of public officials, including law enforcement, which is his right. But these blog threads - responses to and from other bloggers - often turn into personal attacks.
"The biggest struggle is not to get into the back and forth," he said. "I get baited on there."
If a candidate has Internet skeletons, rest assured someone will find them. Joe Cataline, who is challenging Olsen in District 5, is a 26-year-old photographer whose business, Destiny Productions, mostly involves wedding shoots. On occasion, he's taken other kinds of assignments, including some boudoir-type photography - photos of women in lingerie. He said the women wanted the photos for their husbands.
"I'm trying to grow my business," Cataline said. "From my standpoint, everything's been done on the up and up. In every case, they were married couples. They were done the right way, with the husbands right there."
A number of them ended up on a Web site called deviantart.com, along with several more of his photos.
Cataline confirmed he'd taken all of the photos on that gallery but said he didn't submit them. They were there under "ichabadkrane," a Web handle he said he hasn't used in at least two years.
Cataline said he plans to contact deviantart.com and demand his photos be removed from the gallery.
The "ichabadkrane" handle has appeared four times in the past month in the comments section below stories or opinion pieces on modbee.com. Each time, the comment supported Cataline.
The handle, according to our records, was created in September. Cataline said he knows no one by the name of the man who made the account.
On MySpace, you'll find photos of women pole dancing, and pictures of Cataline posing with them at the event. Hey, he's a single guy. There was nothing illegal about it. Many studios teach pole dancing as a form of exercise.
But if you want to hand your opponent some campaign fodder, posting a shot of a candidate next to some attractive and dressed-to-party young women (see Gary Hart) will do it.
Ultimately, the effectiveness of the Internet comes down to whether a local candidate uses it as a tool or a toy.
A violin? Perlman's job is safe.
Jeff Jardine's column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in Local News. He can be reached at 578-2383 or jjardine@modbee.com.
o o o WHERE TO LOOK
 
DISTRICT 2o Dave Geer - Google Dave Geer Modesto to find his Facebook entry or go to www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143068764021&index=1
o Al Nava - On Facebook, enter Al Nava in search field or go to www.facebook.com/search/?q=Al+Nava&init=quick#/pages/Al-Nava/149612289967?ref=search&sid=1354476929.2968076337..1
DISTRICT 4
o Joe Muratore - www.joemuratore.com
o Jeff Perine - www.jeffperine.com
o Robert Stanford - stanford4modesto.blogspot.com
DISTRICT 5
o Joe Cataline - www.votejoecataline.com
o Kristin Olsen - kristinolsen.org
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