Voters who take the time to seek out a candidate's web site deserve more than what they could get on the 10 o'clock news. Local political candidates are beginning to realize if they want to reach voters, they need to head for the Web.
Debates draw only the most faithful party politicos.
And candidates certainly can't rely on the local news media to publicize their race, particularly when we're busy covering big stories like some guy who lost his pet buffalo. The Internet gives candidates a cheap way to say everything they want to anyone who chooses to seek them out. To see how candidates are using the Net, I spent some time surfing the sites posted by four men seeking a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in Congressional District 5, which includes most of Tucson. While the sites varied widely, they all shared two things in common. Each site made extensive use of classic symbols of democracy, such as the Statue of Liberty and the American flag.