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

Alternate: David Tom - Phone 650.312.5222 E-mail dtom@smcare.org
Web: www.shapethefuture.org www.smcare.org

Candidates Use Web to Gain Experience

Download or listen to the Candidate Seminar on www.shapethefuture.org

(Redwood City, CA) –The San Mateo County Elections Office will reach out to prospective candidates by posting a ‘podcast’ of the Candidate Seminar on its web site, www.shapethefuture.org.  Candidates unable to attend either the July 12 or July 29 seminars need not 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.)

“This ‘podcast’ will allow anyone – candidates, supporters or interested citizens, to listen to the Candidate Seminar on their own time,” said Warren Slocum, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-Clerk-Recorder of San Mateo County.  “We are doing everything we can to enable more voters to become candidates and increase the level of civic involvement in our great county.”

“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 and it’s available 24/7."

The Candidate Seminar is taught by Mark Numainville, Filing Officer at Elections.  “The questions asked at the seminar are the same questions that candidates ask when they come in to file their papers to run for office” said Numainville. “Candidates that have attended the seminar or listened on-line have the benefit of that experience and knowledge going into the process, rather that playing catch-up as they begin their nascent campaigns.”

The ‘podcast is easily accessible to all levels of computer users, just go to www.shapethefuture.org , look for the Candidate Seminar information on the homepage and follow the directions.