E-Politics

By Steve Cooley

Describes the role of the internet in political races in communicating positions to the voting public.

"I believe the new politics of reform demands that issues and substance be part of any political campaign. The race for District Attorney is no different.

Of the three candidates on the March 7 primary ballot, only Mr. Garcetti (http://www.garcetti2000.org) and I (http://www.cooley4da.org) have websites for voters to review and contrast. Since Garcetti failed to file a candidate statement, my website is the only one listed in the official voter pamphlet. That is unfortunate.

While it may appear counterintuitive, in campaign stops all across Los Angeles County I am doing the unthinkable: I am giving audiences both Garcetti's website address and my own. The response has been astonishing. Why? Because it confirms my belief that issues and substance matter to the public, the more so since the incumbent remains afraid to accept my invitation for debates to defend his record.

Web visitors will see a startling contrast between the Web page content of Garcetti's and mine. His website is vintage old politics, reprising his record of leadership and accomplishments and producing a laundry list of predictable endorsements from elected public officials. But nowhere in his web pages does the chief law enforcement officer of Los Angeles County address current issues like the Rampart police scandal and Belmont Learning Center fiasco. He is also silent about his overall stewardship.

Under the toolbar "Headlines," the only newspaper clipping deemed worthy of including concerns Garcetti's early fundraising lead. It is a telling metaphor about his misreading of the electorate on issues of substance and candor beyond TV soundbites.

My website also cites a record of leadership and accomplishments. But what distinguishes it from Garcetti's is a series of campaign position papers I have published and for which I want the public to hold me accountable after I am elected.

My position papers criticize Garcetti on real issues: prosecutorial oversight, managerial failure, rampant public corruption and favoring major contributors. But they also explain how I will be a different kind of proactive D.A. in the public interest. The papers outline a new Blueprint for Justice and immediate implementation of a new "Three Strikes Policy" to achieve proportionate and evenhanded justice throughout Los Angeles County.

Let the website comparison begin!"