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Category: Elections

Kitzhaber vs Dudley: The Oregon governor race and the tale of the social media tape

Will Democrat John Kitzhaber, former Oregon governor, retake the office? Or will former Portland Trail Blazers center Republican Chris Dudley land a new position? What does social media say?

Rick Turoczy on November 2, 2010

It’s getting down to the wire on the Oregon gubernatorial race. And, at this point, the winner is anybody’s guess. Will Democrat John Kitzhaber, former Oregon governor, retake the office? Or will former Portland Trail Blazers center Republican Chris Dudley land a new position?

When this whole political thing started, I took a quick look at the candidates for Oregon governor in terms of their Web presence. Now seemed an appropriate time to assess the two candidates and their social media standing—to see if it gives us any indication of who might be Oregon’s next governor. Read More

Governor of social media: What Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn say about the Oregon 2010 gubernatorial candidates

we took a look at the candidates way early in the Oregon governor’s race. But how have things changed since then? Well, let’s take a look at how the front runners are faring especially in regards to social media

Rick Turoczy on April 26, 2010

[HTML1]Now, there are any number of folks who will tell you that number of followers or fans on social networks—like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, for example—does not to equate to much of anything. And for the most part, I would agree.

But when you’re one of the leading gubernatorial candidates for the 2010 Oregon election, your number of followers could be an interesting indicator of your understanding of the power of social media—and your connection with the demographic that uses those tools.

Read More

Oregon Startups: What would you ask the next governor of Oregon?

I think it’s important to realize that we’ll be electing a new governor for the state of Oregon in 2010. And it’s highly likely that whomever wins that seat will be having a significant impact on the startups you’re creating.

Rick Turoczy on October 15, 2009

[HTML1]While it’s still early in the race, I think it’s important to realize that we’ll be electing a new governor for the state of Oregon in 2010. And it’s highly likely that whomever wins that seat will be having a significant impact on the startups you’re creating.

Given that you’re building the business you always wanted to build, we want to make sure you’ve got the best environment for doing that. So we should make sure that you’re getting the kind of information you need to make the right voting decision, right? Right.

Let’s do that shall we? Read More

Oregon’s next governor: Assessing 14 candidates’ online presence and social media savvy

Rick Turoczy on September 6, 2009

Yesterday—upon learning that Marshall Kirkpatrick had seen a Facebook ad that John Kitzhaber had decided to mount another run for the Oregon governor gig—I started to do a little digging into Kitzhaber’s social media presence.

Then it dawned on me, instead of just taking a look at the one candidate—even if he was the one who had served as governor during half of my residence in Oregon—it would probably be wise to look at all the gubernatorial candidates, their online presence, and their social media savvy.

Sounds like a pretty good idea, doesn’t it? Shall we? Read More

Changing of the guard: Legion of Tech board elections announced

Rick Turoczy on September 25, 2008

Legion of TechIt’s no secret that one of my favorite organizations here in town is Legion of Tech.

Even in its youth, the Legion of Tech has done an amazing job of becoming a completely philanthropic tech organization designed to serve the greater good and make more events more accessible to more people.

I can safely say that no single organization has had such a dramatic and profound impact on the Portland tech scene over the past year.

Perhaps, for that matter, ever.

The original Legion of Tech crew has done a phenomenal job of transforming the event scene around Portland. I mean, c’mon! The oversold Ignite Portlands? Startupalooza? Big-name Legion of Talks? Legion of Tech Happy Hours? And, of course, the incomparable BarCamp Portland?

The list goes on and on and on.

So it is with some trepidation and some excitement that I report that it’s time for the first Legion of Tech board and advisory committee elections.

Interested in getting more deeply involved in Portland’s tech community? Now’s your chance: the Legion of Tech elections were just announced. There are 2 different LoT positions up for grabs, involving differing levels of responsibility

I have trepidation because the founders have done such a phenomenal job. And yet, there’s definitely excitement because these folks deserve a break—and it will be interesting to see who exactly enters the fold.

So how does this whole election thing work? Well, there’s an extensive election post on the Legion of Tech blog but here’s the short story:

If you are interested in running for the Legion of Tech board or the Advisory Committee, please contact your favorite member of the existing board to request a nomination. Keep in mind that the nominations are due on November 1 for the board of directors and on December 1 for the Advisory Committee.

It’s going to be an interesting election year.

I’m excited to see where this goes. And you can be sure that I’ll keep you in the loop.

And please, if you’re interested in participating and continuing the amazing run of tech events here in Portland, by all means throw your hat into the ring.