News & Events

September 15, 2005

Candidate Blog: Fast-moving Internet Trend Debuts Here

SAN DIEGO, CA - September 15, 2005 - In a sign of the times, City Council candidate Carolyn Chase has launched a tell-all blog on her feature-rich Web site at: www.chaseforcouncil.com/cgi-bin/blog_index.pl.

What does “blog” mean? A contraction of Web log, a blog is a Web-based publication of periodic articles, normally in reverse chronological order, ranging in scope from individual diaries to political comment and business marketing. For one history of blogging, visit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/blog Who wrote the world's first blog? Was it Jim Howard in 1982? For Howard's claim, visit: www.hyperorg.com/blogger/ mtarchive/004331.html Or was it Justin Hall in 1994? For a blog timeline, visit: www.blockstar.com/ blog/blog_timeline.html

“Many candidates claim that they want to hear from voters but Carolyn proves it,” said supporter and utility consumer advocate Michael Shames. “Her use of this exciting network technology is unprecedented in local San Diego elections and a welcome sign that she actually means what the other candidates only profess. She is taking city campaigning to the next level by tapping into the blog explosion, said to be 90 million strong worldwide.”

Although a local TV station last year offered blog time to all comers seeking office, Chase is thought to be the first local campaigner to bring her frequently updated messages directly to voters on her own Web site.

An independent candidate, Chase favors open government and describes her new blog as “a logical outgrowth of my deeply held and practiced belief in calling it like I see it.” In her digitized version of “reality politics,” Chase candidly reviews issues, hammers questionable acts by public figures and shares verbal snapshots of interesting people she meets along the campaign trail.

Chase’s blog shares information that candidates generally don't discuss -- at least not until after an election. For example, she reveals the inner workings of how she was selected for a Sierra Club endorsement, an endorsement later challenged by a competitor. She takes aim at the city pension board and its secret files. Plus, she lays bare the facts of how the San Diego Police Department typically endorses controversial alcohol permits. Some information is strictly personal, such as her mother's cancer surgery, and Chase’s exhilaration in pounding the streets hunting votes.

Carolyn Chase is best known as a San Diego Planning Commissioner and founder and CEO of San Diego EarthWorks, the non-profit organization that stages the annual Earth Day Fair in Balboa Park.

Contact: David Edlund email: ddecom1@yahoo.com
Phone: 619-767-8810
Contact: Michael Shames email: mshames@ucan.org
Phone: 619-819-8642

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