Thursday March 18, 2010:
We need in this cycle and going forward leadership that is willing to take on the difficult fights. But that is also willing at times to take a step back and to try to work with different constituencies, different parties, and different people…
Three basic things:
- Building participation of the voters, at the voting booth, and also in our communities
- The Secretary of the State as a true business advocate
- A stepped-up use of e-government so that the Secretary of the State’s Office can be a focal point for information…
What we need to focus on is that citizenship, which is not a seasonal thing. Citizenship should not be just going out to vote once year
The big thing we need to…is stepping up the Secretary of the State’s role as a true citizens advocate…when I started my business [and filed for my business]…there was no real exchange of information: no one telling me about sources of public capital or private capital…the Secretary of the State’s office using that bully pulpit, that constitutional office, I think can help open those doors…
We need to supply more information to the pubic…from an economic prospective and a consumer protection prospective. That information should get out to the public in a more user friendly way through the internet.
In response to my question about the need for more accurate, citizen verifiable election information online:
Of course I would try. That is one of my frustrations, running for election, and go on the next day and actually see what the numbers are and you can’t get them…Obviously everything would be prioritized and whether that would be in a time of limited resources where you went and spent your money first, there might be some other things that you do.
