The first gubernatorial debate was held last week for Democratic hopefuls Jane Harmon, Gray Davis and Al Checchi, and Republican Dan Lungren. The candidates voiced their opinions on a broad range of topics, from gun control to education. With only three weeks until the June 2 primary, the Business Journal asks:
Are you following the gubernatorial race?
Michael Levine
President
Levine Communication Office
Of course. I am following it carefully because politics affects the lives of all of us and I care about the society in which I live and run my business. To not pay attention is to not meet your responsibility to a democracy. As a marketing executive, I find the approaches used in the T.V. ads fascinating however, often not all that informative.
Elaine Locksley
Locksley Group Ltd.
A little, but I haven’t been around at all. Off the top of my head, I am not confident with any of the candidates, so I am really going to have to be convinced. They are going to have to do a lot of good stuff before I come to a decision. So far, all of what I see is negative. The more of that they do, the less I will follow the race.
Kathe Aspirin
Director of Client Services
Ervin Advertising
No, I have not. I hate to say it, but I am in the process of moving and I have not been keeping up on current events. I will definitely catch up once I am done with all of my personal stuff. I will probably read about the candidates to keep up. I like to be an informed voter.
Julie Epstein
Public Relations Manager
Music Center Inc.
I am following it avidly because I care about where the state of California is heading. This is a critical election because we are about to enter the new millenium. I care about the candidate’s positions on education, the environment and the economy and will be analyzing their issues in order to vote for the right person.
John Long
Managing Partner
Highridge Partners
I am. The issues that are raised are significant issues specifically, education and economic development. What has been interesting to me is the notion that people have on how they are running their campaigns. The response to the most recent debate shows that people are still interested in the election. People want to get beyond the 30 seconds and get to the issues. There are two processes: one is to help the voters elect the most qualified leader to lead our state, the second is a social phenomenon about the way candidates get out their message.
