Choice for our future: strong leader, strong cabinet please.

Posted on October 28, 2008 by Sanford

In 2000, after the debacle in the Supreme Court (can you tell where I am biased?), I was in London with my new company and was reading a copy of the USA Today around the time of the Inauguration. In the article, the reporter was describing the makeup of the “new” President’s Cabinet.

For some reason, I have always misremembered the opening paragraph within the article – in my mind, I always interpreted it to be “would you rather have a strong cabinet with a weak leader or a weak cabinet with a strong leader?” especially since he seemed to be hiring the same people that had brought the recession upon us at that time.
Continue reading →

Posted in Campaign 2008, Political Thoughts | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Choice for our future: strong leader, strong cabinet please.

Seeking information for the Broward County Ballot? So was I.

Posted on October 27, 2008 by Sanford

One of the most amazing things that happened this past week was my own frustration on trying to vote ont he Broward County ballot and then discovering how much content was missing.  Simply put – being an informed voter is not easy at all this year.  

Yes, our attention has been super-glued to the media and robocalls and volunteer efforts to bring out the vote by the Presidential campaigns – which means that supporters from both parties are going to be driven to the polls. The Presidential pick and the Congressional picks are relatively easy since people are pushing an effort out – but what about the local elections?

Sure, the Florida Amendments and the Broward County Charter changes are administrative – which is why I have included the summary of the amendments and the statements from the newspaper’s Editorial Boards for your perusal.  

Disappointingly, very little information was out there for the non-exciting amendments (e.g. the amusingly named “Marriage Protection Amendment”) which made the Editorial Boards important in terms of fleshing out the Amendments.

What bothered me the most was the lack of information from the local candidates for the various roles.  In particular, a bunch of the candidates did not tell me who they are – and support their case with details on what they stand for and why I should choose them for office.  Let me break down the Broward ballot and show you what I mean.
Continue reading →

Posted in Broward County Ballot 2008, Campaign 2008, Political Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Seeking information for the Broward County Ballot? So was I.

Summary of Broward Charter Amendments on 2008 Ballot

Posted on October 24, 2008 by Sanford

Voting for Broward County InitativesIn keeping with my promise, I am including the ten amendments that are being discussed to modify the Broward County Charter. I have been very careful about my publishing of these summaries since I am not trying to suggest one way or another on how to vote.

I know my family and friends who have been reading these posts have appreciated the content and the access to the information that makes voting easier and more effective. I will comment that my biggest frustration lied in voting for the position of Broward Soil and Water Conservation District role (between Oliver Parker and Fred Segal), and since I could not find any information on them, I chose not to vote for either of them.

[UPDATE: Oliver and Fred – would you mind putting some information up somewhere? Even in my comments would be great.]

For the ten initiatives to modify the Broward County Charter, I am listing what I have found published at CBS4.com’s site (with a corresponding link) and the opinion of the Miami Herald and the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.
Continue reading →

Posted in Broward County Ballot 2008, Campaign 2008, Political Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Under the Radar exposing the robocalls and dark matter mailers

Posted on October 24, 2008 by Sanford

Wow. Just got an email from a friend that showed me what the Chicago Office of the Obama Campaign has been working on. Talk about transparency – they launched “Under the Radar” where people can see and submit robocalls and scan of negative mailers to the campaign – and allow for the rest of the country to see and hear them.

This is BIG. This is incredible.

For the first time, we can connect on what is happening in different battleground states and SEE and HEAR what dreck is being distributed. This is something that can change the way campaigns are run.

When I saw it – I was incredibly excited since remembering when I was working for a candidate in Florida and found, during the canvassing, the various lies and hate mailers that people were pulling out of their mailboxes.

Way to go Team Obama. Terrific work with Under the Radar.

Posted in Campaign 2008, Political Tech | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Under the Radar exposing the robocalls and dark matter mailers

Political Lunch: On Mail In Broward Ballots and Twitter Vote Report

Posted on October 23, 2008 by Sanford

During my trip, I visited the Hudson Street Studios and filmed an episode of Political Lunch with Rob Millis to talk about the Broward mail-in ballot, the joys of the “bubbie patrol” and the exciting efforts of the Twitter Vote Report team (#votereport).

To see the Twitter Vote Report efforts, go to http://www.twittervotereport.com.

For more information on how to get involved with the Twitter Vote Report, go to http://votereport.pbwiki.com – we are looking for developers to get involved in delivering this incredible solution for the protection of our Democracy.

Posted in Campaign 2008, Personal Thoughts, Political Tech | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Political Lunch: On Mail In Broward Ballots and Twitter Vote Report