San Mateo County Press Release

Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder-Elections

Contact:
Warren Slocum
Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Phone: (650) 363-4988 Fax: (650) 363-1903 E-mail: wslocum@smcare.org
Web: www.shapethefuture.org www.smcare.org

Alternate: David Tom, Phone: 650.312.5222 E-mail: dtom@smcare.org

First Ever Election's 'Podcast'
Candidate Seminar Now Downloadable.

REDWOOD CITY, CA— The San Mateo County Elections Office launched the first-ever Election’s ‘Podcast’ in California.  If you can’t make the next Candidate Seminar scheduled for February 18th, not to worry.  Now, anyone can tune in and listen to the seminar from their computer or download the 2006 Candidate Seminar MP3 files and listen to it on their IPod, RIO, Windows Media Player or any other MP3 player when it’s convenient for them.  (You don’t need an IPod to listen to the audio files.)

“Imagine listening to the Candidate Seminar while you’re spinning at the gym, walking in your neighborhood or driving home from work!” mused Warren Slocum, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-Clerk-Recorder of San Mateo County.  “It’s possible now.  This ‘Podcast’ will allow anyone to listen to the Candidate Seminar on their own time.”

“Today, people have such time pressures, we wanted to make the information easier to access,” said Slocum.  “They can download and listen to the one-and-a-half hour seminar in its entirety, including comments and questions from the participants, or simply download specific content sections,” said Slocum.  "It’s user friendly."

“The more transparent we make the elections process, the better it is for everyone—voters, elections officials, candidates, and the public as a whole,” said Slocum.

Students can learn about what the rules that govern running for office.  Candidates can direct their staff to “attend” the seminar.  Attendees can review the material later on.  Potential candidates can take a closer look with being public about their interest.  Teachers can improve what they teach about the process.  Election colleagues can share the information with each other.

The Candidate Seminar is taught by Mark Numainville, Filing Officer at Elections.  Having taught the class before he said, “Many times, I’ll get called in the days that follow with questions on issues that were touched upon.  Candidates are always welcome to call the Elections Office when they have a question, but what if it’s ten o’clock at night and we’re not there? It may be online now.”

As to the technical competence people need to have Slocum said, “If you’re a computer user, but a newcomer to MP3 files and ‘Podcast’, you need not worry.  It’s easy.  We’ve included simple directions to guide you through the process!”  Just go to www.shapethefuture.org , look for the Candidate Seminar information on the homepage and follow the directions.