CityClub is hiring!
-
LivingVotersGuide.org: A Press Snapshot
Submitted by cityclub on Thu, 10/18/2012 - 3:49pm
Our Living Voters Guide, with its recent wins at the Evergreen Apps Challenge and the release of our new fact-checking feature, has been all over the press!
The Seattle Times described LVG as "a sort of online election information source and forum, where people can post short arguements for or against ballot measures."
GeekWire explained how to participate in LVG and expressed its love for the new fact-checking feature, noting that debates could "really benefit from" live fact-checking as an educational tool.
Bill Gates wrote about LVG's involvement in the Social Innovation Fast Pitch (SIFP) in his Gates Notes. "I see parallels in the problems some of these innovators are solving with much larger problems I am trying to solve globally," Bill Gates wrote, "As government is the U.S. becomes more polarized, debate among politicians has migrated to simplistic views about what government should do or not, with no middle ground for compromise. In contrast, SIFP finalist CityClub finds that voters are open to nuanced debate: 41% listen to both sides, 34% listen to people they disagree with, and 46% are open to changing sides based on what they hear. Their new Living Voters Guide is a website that surfaces the pros and cons of each side, and provides business intelligence and analytics about the nuance of voter’s viewpoints to politicians, with the hope of driving a richer political debate open to middle-ground solutions."
Other recent press coverage includes: University of Washington, Sacramento Bee, Yahoo News
-
Don't miss these Next50 Civic Action Month Events! (Video)
Submitted by cityclub on Fri, 10/12/2012 - 12:02pm
For the last 18 months, our Executive Director, Diane Douglas, has served as co-chair of the Next Fifty's Civic Action Month - the final installment of community programming commemorating the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. Alongside her co-chair, Eric Liu, and a group of dedicated volunteers and Seattle Center staff, Diane helped create a month's worth of exciting activities to celebrate the Seattle World's Fair's 50th anniversary. Check out this short video to hear what Diane has to say about Seattle's ongoing entrepreneurial civic spirit and upcoming Civic Action Month events! -
Congratulations to the 2012 Colleen Willoughby Youth Civic Education Award Winners!
Submitted by cityclub on Wed, 10/10/2012 - 3:38pmOur Judging Panel met last week to select winners for the first annual Colleen Willoughby Youth Civic Education Awards. A wide range of excellent programs applied this first year and we thank all applicants for their dedication to youth civic education! The judges decided to select six winners as our applicant pool was so great and it was so difficult to winnow it down to five! Register for the Awards Reception on Nov.15th!
The 2012 Colleen Willougby Youth Civic Education Award Winners:
-
LivingVotersGuide.org: Your forum for Washington's 2012 ballot measures
Submitted by cityclub on Mon, 10/01/2012 - 9:51amby Diane Douglas, Executive Director
With a heart full of excitement and appreciation, I’m writing to introduce you to Living Voters Guide (LVG).
Unlike other voters guides that are generated by government, newspapers or advocacy organizations, LVG is citizen-generated. Participants submit pros and cons on ballot measures to share their perspectives with others. It’s a venue for civil discourse and voter education by the people and for the people. It asks participants to pledge that they won’t make personal attacks on others, but focus on the issues. It invites everyone to wrestle with trade-offs in a deliberative path toward decision making.
-
Our Living Voters Guide is competing for $150,000 in funding!
Submitted by cityclub on Thu, 09/13/2012 - 11:52am
We are advancing to Seattle's 2012 Social Innovation Fast Pitch (SIFP) Semifinals! SIFP is a fast-pitch investment forum highlighting New Ideas for Social Impact, presented by Social Venture Partners Seattle.
We're competing with other non-profits and for-profits for $150,000 in funding and the opportunity to present our Living Voters Guide to as many as 1,000 of the most engaged social impact leaders, philanthropists and investors around Seattle.Twenty semifinalists were chosen from a competitive field of 38 compelling applicants.
Click on the image to the right to hear our LVG partner, Travis Kriplean, giving our pitch!
-
We're creating a fresh, easy-to-use website!
Submitted by cityclub on Thu, 08/23/2012 - 10:59amWe've listened to your concerns, discussed your suggestions, and NOW we're busy creating a fresh, easy-to-use website!
You'll notice changes to the website over the next two weeks. Please let us know if you notice anything that needs to be fixed by emailing abaker@seattlecityclub.org or calling 206.682.7395. Thank you for your input throughout this process - and for your patience during this period of maintenance!
-
Don't forget to mail those ballots!
Submitted by cityclub on Thu, 08/02/2012 - 2:06pm
Completed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day (Tuesday, August 7) or received at a designated drop box by 8pm. For a list of drop box locations, click here.Check out King County's Voters' Pamphlet and theWashington Secretary of State's 2012 Primary Voters' Guide for information on candidates and ballot measures.
Don't forget! Your signature matters! Your signature is required for your ballot to be opened and your vote to be counted. By law, King County elections must check to make sure the signature on each envelope matches the signature on file with the voter's registration. For more on this process, watch this video or visit the King County website.
Just for fun: Ever wondered why we vote on Tuesdays? Check out this video for the answer - from the Executive Director of Why Tuesday?, a non-partisan organization committed to finding solutions to increase voter turnout.
-
The Lightning Round at CityClub & Microsoft's 1st Congressional District Debate
Submitted by cityclub on Fri, 07/27/2012 - 11:19amHow did the candidates of the 1st Congressional District answer key questions
when they had to think fast?See below for the answers from candidates Darcy Burner, Suzan DelBene, Steve Hobbs, John Koster, Darshan Rauniyar and Laura Ruderman.
Do you think same sex couples should be able to get married?
Burner - YES, Delbene - YES, Hobbs - YES, Koster - NO, Rauniyar - YES, Ruderman - YES
-
Introducing our 2012 Community Matters Campaign, "Civil Civics"
Submitted by cityclub on Thu, 07/26/2012 - 1:39pm
Yesterday, we launched our 2012 Community Matters Campaign with a 1st Congressional District debate. Hear what KING 5, Q13 FOX, Seattle PI, and The Herald had to say about it - or watch it on TVW.
This year's Community Matters Campaign, "Civil Civics," examines civility in political discourse. You told us that returning civility to political discourse and public life is a chief concern. We heard you! And we've designed a full spectrum of programs and opportunities for action. We have a strong line-up of campaign debates and issue forums, and we hope you'll participate in many of them. Please take our poll on civility in political discourse and send it to your family and friends to engage them, too. As always, we'll publish the results and our analysis at the conclusion of the Campaign.
Want to stay up-to-date on the Campaign? Join our eNews list!
-
Washington state takes to Facebook for voter registration!
Submitted by cityclub on Wed, 07/18/2012 - 4:56pmWe're proud to be Washingtonian.
While headlines all across the country are decrying instances of voter suppression, what's Washington state's headline? "Washington state to unveil voter registration on Facebook." Voter suppression outreach. Now that's more like it! Read the story here:
by Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Facebook users in Washington state will have something else to brag about to their online friends: that they registered to vote on Facebook.
The secretary of state's office said Tuesday it will have an application on its Facebook page that allows residents to register to vote and then "like" the application and recommend it to their friends. It's expected to launch as early as next week.
"In this age of social media and more people going online for services, this is a natural way to introduce people to online registration and leverage the power of friends on Facebook to get more people registered," said Shane Hamlin, co-director of elections.
