California's Secretary of State, Debra Bowen, is a self-proclaimed geek. Her geekiness was out in full force last evening as she participated in a debate with three other candidates for Congress in CA-36 -- while simultaneously tweeting additional information about her responses as the debate went on.
Then there's:
((Bowen)) convinced the ((Secretary of State's)) office to use cloud computing -- a means of hosting online information by an off-site company -- to handle the increase in web users during election time. That paid off most stunningly for Prop 8, the gay marriage ban of 2008, when the office's website was viewed at a level 16 times the historic high. To accommodate that many users with an in-house system, the department would have spent nearly $1 million for technology that would then sit dormant for most of the year. Instead, Bowen's cloud computing contractor sent them a final bill for $14, and then cut that bill in half after realizing they had overcharged.
(Yeah, I'm a computer geek and impressed by such things in a politician).
She also had the audacity to tell the debate moderator (Rick Jacobs, Director of the Courage Campaign which sponsored the debate), that she did not have sufficient information to answer a question on Libya as to whether to defund the war effort. She said (and I'm paraphrasing) that before she voted on complicated issues she liked to study and understand them.
Now it's true -- sometimes a politician will give a glib answer to a difficult question along the lines of 'I have to study it'. But Bowen's answer was not of that ilk. It was a straightforward admission that the situation in Libya is complicated and not widely understood. That without further information, analysis and thought she could not make a reasonable decision on a hypothetical vote to defund. You don't get that type of answer from your typical politician, at least in my experience.
While Bowen's style may not be the kind to rabble-rouse the masses, if she demonstrated anything last night it was that she would make an excellent Congressperson. From her list of accomplishments as California Representative and Secretary of State, to her coolness under fire as she warded off at attack from Marcy Winograd on her position on Israel, to her answers on a bevy of topics, Bowen came across as clearly... competent.
I wrote another piece on Bowen a week ago: Debra Bowen Has All the Right Stuff and the debate last night has done nothing to dissuade me that Bowen is the best Progressive to get into Congress. In fact, I am more convinced than ever.
If you think as I do, and want someone who is both competent and stands for:
- Equality for all
- The Dream Act and Immigration Reform
- Getting us out of Afghanistan
- Single-payer health care
- Investments in Clean Energy, Infrastructure and Education
then the choice is clear.
You can Donate here through Act Blue. You can Volunteer here.
You can listen to last night's debate here.
Bowen's campaign website is here.
Note: The primary election will be held on May 17th, 2011. All candidates, Democrats, Republicans and Independents, will be competing for the same pool of votes. The two candidates that receive the most votes will go on to a final election, scheduled for July 12, 2011. (If one candidate were to receive more than 50% of the vote in the primary, there would be no final election. However, with three Democrats and three or four Republicans running, no one is expected to hit the 50% threshold in the primary).
Update: A new diary with more info on Bowen, including her recent endorsement by DFA
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Disclaimer: I have no official or unofficial relationship to the Bowen campaign, or to any of the candidates. Nor do I live in CA-36, although I do live in California.