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Steven Some, Chairman of NJ GOPAC, Quoted in Recent AP Article

Yesterday, CPA President Steven Some was quoted in an AP article published in the NJ Herald. The article was in regard to Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie’s announcement of Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno as his lieutenant governor selection.

Guadagno is, “a proven vote-getter who greatly enhances (Christie’s) numbers in Monmouth County, which has been trending Democrat over the last few cycles” said state GOPAC Chairman Steven Some.

Kim Guadagno was first elected Monmouth County Sheriff in 2007, and serves as the first female county sheriff. Guadagno is also a former assistant U.S. Attorney, and prior to that an assistant Attorney General.

GOPAC is a national organization which raises money, recruits and trains Republican candidates for public office.

Christie Announces Lieutenant Governor on YouTube

Earlier today, Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie announced his selection for his lieutenant governor, and running-mate, Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno. In keeping with the growing trend of social media as a campaign tool, Christie and Guadagno utilized YouTube to make the announcement. A short four minute video was created introducing Guadagno and posted on the new media site, allowing the campaign to instantly reach thousands of New Jerseyans.

Social Media Intensifying Race for Governor

The race for governor in New Jersey has heated up recently, a result largely in part due to a very valuable campaign tool, new media. Governor Jon Corzine and Chris Christie have each become active in social media communications through YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Video messages, statements, speaking events, Tweets and blog posts, are all utilized by the candidates to display information and even communicate attacks against each other. Governor Corzine and Chris Christie employ social media to speak directly with loyal supporters and display their platforms to garner additional voters. The ability to target specific niches within social media will definitely help determine November’s outcome.

Building Grassroots Support

Websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have catalyzed a change in political campaigns to include a new and fundamental component, social media. Campaigns all across the country have incorporated the most efficient way to communicate with constituents and display the latest information.  A free and quick way to instantly connect with thousands of people is too good to pass up, and essential in order to stay up-to-date.

CPA Unlocking Stimulus Funds

Lobbyists have become actively involved in unlocking stimulus funds for private firms and local municipalities. Funds allocated for transportation and infrastructure projects have become the center of the action. "Capital Public Affairs, Inc. in Princeton is heavily focused on stimulus allocations for municipalities and higher education institutions" as stated by CPA President Steven Some in a recent NJ Biz article.

CPA is actively involved in working towards a green technology construction project for a college. In addition to engineering firms and municipalities looking to improve their infrastructure.

CPA President Steven Some on NJ-Now

Capital Public Affairs, Inc. President Steven Some recently appeared on NJ-Now to discuss the recent Democratic and Republican primary results and the upcoming gubernatorial election between Governor Jon Corzine and Chris Christie. Watch as Steven, NJ GOPAC Chairman, covers November's election.

Technology Changing Campaigns at All Levels

From dog catcher to president, political campaigns are being impacted by technology and the rising crop of web-based communication tools. Naturally, that trend is also seen in New Jersey. The major candidates for Governor are utilizing blogs and social networking web sites to communicate with supporters, persuade fence-sitters and attack their rivals. Political information is now mainlined directly to the voters - the traditional role of the media is slowly but surely diminishing. This is potentially problematic, yet ripe with opportunity for candidates. How that opportunity is exploited by political candidates will play a large role in defining electoral winners and losers.

Facebook Messages Get Campaigns in Hot Water

Candidates for the Republican nomination for Governor of New Jersey are fighting it out across New Jersey and across the World Wide Web. Todd Christie, Chris Christie's brother, and Rick Shaftan, Steve Lonegan's strategist, exchanged a series of increasingly nasty messages on Facebook that are now public.

This unfortunate episode serves as a reminder to: 1. Take a deep breath before hitting "Send" on that email message, and 2: Remember that every thing you write on the web could end up in the newspaper. I think if Todd and Rick remembered either of those two points,  you wouldn't be reading this blog post.

Steven E. Some Named Chairman of GOPAC-NJ

We're proud to announce that CPA's President, Steven E. Some, has been named Chairman of GOPAC-NJ. Below is the press release from GOPAC.

GOPAC Names Steven E. Some As New Jersey Chairman
Steven E. Some Brings Focused Local Leadership

Washington, DC (April 13, 2009) - GOPAC today announced that Steven E. Some will lead the New Jersey chapter of GOPAC.  Steven Some’s new role as GOPAC-NJ Chairman began on April 8, 2009.

“We are proud to have Steven E. Some serve as GOPAC’s New Jersey Chairman,” said Frank Donatelli, GOPAC Chairman.  “Steven’s experience, judgment and integrity will strengthen GOPAC’s efforts to elect more Republicans in this critical year.”
 
Mr. Some’s new role as ’s GOPAC Chairman is to train and help elect state and local Republican candidates in New Jersey.

Mr. Some stated, “We need to prepare and elect a new generation of Republican leaders in order to win back the majority in the state legislature.  We are focused on picking up at least six seats, which will give Republicans a majority the New Jersey Assembly and elect Alex DeCroce as Speaker.”  Mr. Some added, “New Jersey can show Republicans the path to electoral success just as we did in 1993 with the election of a Republican Governor and Legislature.”

Mr. Some, a resident of Skillman, New Jersey is the founder and President of Capital Public Affairs, Inc. (CPA), a government relations and public affairs firm located in Princeton, New Jersey  and Washington, D.C.

Mr. Some served in several appointive positions in the administration of former President Ronald Reagan including: special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Labor; special assistant to the assistant secretary of labor for employment and training; and special assistant to the director of congressional and legislative affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior.  He is a long time Republican strategist and activist in New Jersey.

GOPAC is a national organization that was formed in 1979 to build a Republican political infrastructure capable of winning and governing across America.

It is dedicated exclusively to electing Republicans to state and local offices.  GOPAC is the Republican Party's preeminent training and education political action committee.
 
For more information on GOPAC, visit the organization’s Web site.

Corzine and Christie Battle It Out on the Web

MyCentralJersey.com has an interesting article about the use of social networking web sites in this year's race for Governor of New Jersey. Front runners Jon Corzine and Chris Christie have both established themselves on Facebook and Twitter, an acknowledgment of the value found in these communications tools. However, at this early point in the general election campaign the campaigns may not be using the sites to their fullest potential. Here's a closer look:

Facebook
Christie: 1,204 Supporters
Last Update: March 2, 2009

Corzine: 997 Supporters
Last Update: March 31, 2009

Christie has collected more supporters on Facebook than Corzine and his NCAA bracket tournament created some positive buzz.  Christie had momentum on his side, but hasn't updated Facebook since March 2.

Corzine has recently turned on the Facebook switch and is using the site effectively. He posts status updates and photos. He hasn't crossed the 1,000-follower mark yet, but with regular usage, he will very soon. Yet even with his increased activity, he still lags Christie in supporters.

Twitter
Christie Updates: 169
Following: 207
Followers: 481

Corzine Updates: 0
Following: 0
Followers: 84

Christie is using Twitter very effectively and it shows. He's rounded up a nice following and updates frequently with many updates coming from the candidate himself. That's the way it should be done.

The same cannot yet be said for Corzine's presence on Twitter. With no updates yet, it appears that the account is just a place-holder until someone at the campaign turns on the switch. But they're updating Facebook almost everyday. Why not throw a Twitter post in the mix?

What emerges is a picture of inconsistency from both campaigns. Understandable. Campaigns, voters and everyone else are still discovering these sites and getting oriented to using them on a regular basis.

It will be interesting to watch these two campaigns through the prism of their social media accounts as the race for governor heats up. Stay tuned!