I’m excited to share the news today that Pete Peterson of the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement & Civic Leadership (an organizational member of NCDD) just announced his candidacy for Secretary of State in California. Pete has been involved in NCDD since 2008, and I’m a huge fan of his.
He was part of our “panel of conservatives” who support public engagement work at our 2008 national conference in Austin (along with Grover Norquist), and we asked him to play a speaking role again at our 2012 national conference in Seattle. He was awesome, and you can watch the video of his speech here.
Pete is running on a platform of improving civic engagement state-wide, and could use all of our support. His site (which will be filled out soon) is up at petesos.com.
Good luck to you, Pete — we’re rooting for you!
Check out the announcement on the Sacramento Bee website…
Republican leader of policy institute to run for secretary of state
A Southern California Republican who runs a public policy institute is getting in the race to succeed outgoing Secretary of State Debra Bowen as the state’s chief elections official.
Pete Peterson, executive director of Pepperdine University’s Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership, announced his candidacy in a statement released today, saying the state “is in desperate need of reform.”
“With many Californians struggling to make ends meet or worrying about their economic future, it is crucial we encourage public engagement inside and outside of the voting booth,” Peterson said in the statement. “Using technology to encourage voter registration, voter turnout, and government transparency will increase public involvement in the democratic process.”
Peterson is the first Republican to formally announce his candidacy for the office, which will be up for grabs in 2014 when Bowen steps down due to term limits. Democratic state Sens. Alex Padilla and Leland Yee have already joined the race, while campaign finance reform advocate Derek Cressman, also a Democrat, is considering a bid. Several other current and former Democratic legislators have filed paperwork for a potential run.
Peterson, who lives in Santa Monica, took a dig at the political resumes of those rivals, saying he sees “this office as a means to change the direction of California, not as a stepping stone for professional politicians.”
Read the post on the Sacramento Bee site at http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/04/pepperdine-university-official-to-run.html and add a supportive comment if you’d like!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.