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Case study: Newark, California

Newark, Calif., is a small community just outside Silicon Valley in California's Bay Area. Still, the Internet was an integral part in a recent campaign to approve a housing development there and is an excellent example of a state-of-the-art use of the Internet to manage a campaign online. During a debate broadcast on public access television, one of the panelists mentioned their campaign's Web address. An hour later, there were 38 visitors "live" on the Web site. Not bad for a small town with about 4,000 active registered voters.

The Web site, www.NoOnC.com, provided content with depth unimaginable to any traditional campaign. It also acted as a virtual campaign headquarters: not only could potential voters learn about the issue, find their polling place and order a lawn sign, they could volunteer, make online donations and take a virtual tour of the area in question. In addition, principle campaign participants and others with a valid I.D. and password could access the campaign's database -- a comprehensive list of volunteers and tasks that could be sorted in dozens of ways (for example, by address, willingness to display a campaign sign, availability to phone bank on Saturday nights, whether they owned a pickup truck, etc.) Here, volunteers could also receive updated instructions for their role in the campaign and communicate among themselves.

"It was a tremendous tool,'' said Dave Tanner, a member of campaign committee.

No On C relied on its Web site to update constituents in real time as the campaign evolved. It also reduced the traditional reliance on campaign mailers, opting to use the Internet to disseminate brochure information.

"As far as brochures and literature, there wasn't as much need because of the Web site," Tanner said. "Everything that was involved with the campaign and all the studies were precise and shown right on the Web site. We had to do everything we could to win this campaign and having that instant information on the Web site was a tremendous tool."

On Election Day, the No On C campaign captured 61 percent of the vote, a resounding victory. Tanner credited the Internet with "expanding the campaign's message."

"It's an absolute necessity for any campaign," he said.

To see how this campaign succeeded on the Internet, go to www.preservethis.com. Below, you can read more about the use of Web sites in campaigns.

• Candidate on the Stump Is Surely on the Web, The New York Times, Oct. 19, 1999

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