Not a wide Web of information

One of the bonanzas of the Internet age is the wealth of political

information available. And it isn’t only on the national or global

scene, though immediate access to the political pages of papers

across the country or those covering the Hill is a junkie’s perfect

fix.

It’s the local information one can get to, especially the

unfiltered Web sites of political candidates.

A previous column listed the Internet sites for many of the

candidates for statewide races. But those running for arguably the

most influential seats -- city council and school board -- are not

without their campaign headquarters in cyberspace. What is somewhat

shocking is that -- at least via a thorough, though perhaps not

exhaustive, search -- not more candidates have one.

In Costa Mesa, Allan Mansoor, a member of the city’s Human

Relations Committee, and Planning Commission Chair Katrina Foley have

the notable Web sites. Both, of course, offer the opportunity for a

visitor to support the campaign financially. More importantly, both

give the full run of statements, philosophies and backgrounds --

Mansoor is a member of the National Rifle Assn. and the California

Republican Assembly, for instance.

Individually, Mansoor’s interesting link is under “photos” at his

site, allanmansoor.com. Those links include snapshots of different

parts of town, notably the Westside, and allow him to suggest where

city planners could have done better in their decision-making (the

comparison shots between Costa Mesa and Newport Beach are especially

illuminating). Those photos certainly provide a look into Mansoor’s

thoughts on the city.

Foley’s includes a running list of supporters, so voters can find

out if anyone they know is in her camp -- not a bad strategy, and the

one behind sticking signs in front yards. She also clearly lays out

her campaign platform, which covers a gambit of issues from blighted

housing to improving efficiency in City Hall.

In Newport Beach, the Greenlight slate of candidates are all

lumped together at newportgreenlight.com. It’s interesting because it

sets up the dynamic, which not all of the non-Greenlight candidates

believe is even close to fair, of a straight ahead pro- and

anti-Greenlight election. (It is not interesting, for those who go

there, because a previous column of mine is excerpted.) But is

strongly indicates that while the Newport Beach election thus far has

not turned nasty, there are the makings for a mud-throwing,

name-calling battle worthy of the old party machines. On one side we

will have Madelene Arakelian, Allan Beek, Dick Nichols and Richard

Taylor, on the other Gary Adams, Tod Ridgeway, Bernie Svalstad and

Don Webb.

Where the other candidates, Laura Dietz, Ron Winship and Marianne

Zippi, fit in I suppose is anyone’s guess.

After a search with several search engines, that is the extent of

Web sites that pop easily to the screen, none for those running for

the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Trustees. It is a

shame there are not more because, ultimately, the better informed a

voter is, the better the elected officials should be. And the

information on these Web sites provide a useful look at

Newport-Mesa’s candidates.

If I’ve missed any, let me know and I’ll print the addresses.

* S.J. CAHN is the managing editor. He can be reached at

(949)574-4233 or by e-mail at steven.cahn@latimes.com.