DATE: Thursday, October 23, 1997            TAG: 9710230542

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: DECISION 97

SOURCE: BY HOLLY A. HEYSER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  177 lines

CANDIDATES VIE FOR VOTES ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB

We interrupt this television advertising blitz to bring genuine substance to the 1997 Virginia governor's race.

Actually, the news flash is that the substance has been there all along if people knew where to look: the World Wide Web.

Virtually unknown four years ago, the Web has begun to transform how Virginia voters learn about their candidates - and how candidates recruit troops for their campaigns.

All three candidates for governor - yes, the Reform Party has a candidate - have campaign sites on the Web. And all three sites offer more substance and detail than people will ever hear on TV, or perhaps even read in newspapers.

That doesn't mean the information on these sites is somehow more credible or fair than what flows from advertisements or stump speeches. But people can find balance in several newspapers' campaign Web sites, which offer everything from analysis to detailed listings of campaign contributions.

What this means is that with a computer, a modem and a mouse, people can track much of the information that comes to light during a campaign and use it to decide how to vote.

``Clearly, we are very pleased with the amount of public access to the campaigns via the Web,'' said Julie Holt-Williams, executive director for Common Cause of Virginia.

She believes the most important thing people can do online is to see for themselves where money comes from and where it goes in the campaigns.

Her only fear is that the candidates might back away from other sources of information - such as mailings and fliers - before access to the Web is ubiquitous enough to replace them.

Many Virginians still don't have access to the Web at home or work, nor are all voters comfortable enough with the medium to surf the net all by themselves at their local public library.

So for the un-wired, television ads and the news are still major sources of information.

Consider this: Democrat Don Beyer's site logged its 100,000th visit Wednesday, and Republican candidate Jim Gilmore's Web page has logged about 106,000 visits.

In comparison, television advertising - with its simplified, image-driven messages - covers the entire state and reaches the bulk of Virginia's 3.5 million voters.

Tony Raymond, Webmaster for the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, believes the situation will be different next time around.

He predicted access to the Web will explode within about two years, making all this campaign information nearly as accessible as television commercials.

``There isn't going to be any excuse for someone not to be an informed voter,'' he said.

The Web isn't just about informing voters, though. This is a two-way medium, and the campaigns have found their sites useful for extracting donations, pledges to volunteer and direct communication from voters.

Gilmore's page has brought offers to volunteer from about 600 people. More than 1,000 people have volunteered through Beyer's site, said Beyer spokeswoman Page Boinest.

Beyer's visit to Maury High School in Norfolk Tuesday came about because a student sent an e-mail invitation to the candidate through the Web site, she said.

Gilmore's Web page has enlisted people who aren't normally active in politics, said Kathryn Coombs, managing director of Washington WebWorks, which handles Gilmore's Web page.

Also, she said, ``We're getting intelligent issue questions from truly undecided voters. `I'm with you on that issue, but what exactly is your position on this?' It's a very democratic medium.'' ILLUSTRATION: ONLINE INFO

Don Beyer's campaign Web site: http://www.beyer97.org. (100,000

hits)

Jim Gilmore's campaign Web site:

http://www.gilmorenet.com.(106,000 hits)

Sue Harris DeBauche's campaign Web site:

http://www.naxs.com/people/mcgoats/news35.htm.

PILOT ONLINE: Virginia Voter Net has the statewide candidates'

Web sites, plus TalkNet discussion groups, campaign contributions

database and Pilot story archive. A link to it is on the News page

at www.pilotonline.com

BEYER SITE

Here is a sampling of what you'll find on Democratic

gubernatorial candidate Don Beyer's campaign Web site. The site

address is http://www.beyer97.org.

MAIN PAGE:

E-mail link to campaign.

Latest news about race (not from independent media sources).

Video clips.

Endorsements.

Links to Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor and

attorney general.

Links to other sections.

OTHER SECTIONS:

``About Don Beyer''

Biography, record, business leadership resume.

``On the Issues''

Substantial position statements on leading issues: education,

economic development, crime, environment, tax cuts and state

employee issues.

Statements on other issues, including seniors, sports team

recruitment, policy on Southwestern and Southside Virginia,

transportation, people with disabilities and protecting people with

mental illness.

``Newsroom''

Verbatim copies of press releases sent to independent media (most

recent is from Oct. 12).

Campaign Central''

Ways to contact campaign.

E-mail form for joining the campaign.

``900'' telephone number to hear Beyer and automatically donate

$25 to the campaign.

``On the Road''

Highlights of where Don Beyer has traveled during the campaign.

A ``photo gallery'' of campaign stops.

Copies of ``On the Road'' campaign newsletter

GILMORE SITE

Here is a sampling of what appears on Republican gubernatorial

candidate Jim Gilmore's campaign Web site. The site address is

(http://www.gilmorenet.com).

MAIN PAGE:

``Headlines'' attacking Don Beyer's negative ads.

``Credibility Check'' on Beyer's ads through Oct. 1.

Link to ``Car Tax Information Center,'' where people can

calculate their tax savings if they happen to own one of the four

most popular vehicles in Virginia.

Links to other sections.

OTHER SECTIONS:

``What's New'' - Updates ``as of Sept. 18.''

Promise to create 250,000 new jobs with link to economic plan,

which features several sections. (Note: The link to the section

featuring the complete text of Gilmore's plan is a dead-end - the

text doesn't appear when you click on it.)

Form for contributing to the campaign on-line via credit card or

through other means.

Poll results from Aug. 27.

Radio and television advertising clips, including text for people

whose computers and modems can't handle the actual clips. (Note: The

most recent ad is from June 17.)

Press releases on law enforcement initiatives.

``About Jim'' - biography

``Promises Kept'' - Ten kept promises from Gilmore's attorney

general campaign.

``Issues''

Detailed statements, press releases and news-style ``articles''

on the following issues: Education and tax cuts, education, jobs and

economic growth, crime, environment and health care.

Issues score card

``The GOP Ticket''

Statements from Republican candidates for lieutenant governor and

attorney general and links to their sites.

Link to Republican Party of Virginia Web site.

``Press Office''

Latest press releases (most recent is Oct. 14).

Text of radio and television ads

``Get Involved''

Electronic form for volunteering.

(Note: This link is a dead-end, so you can't get the promised

information.)

Electronic ``Gilmore'' bumper sticker for other web sites.

``Newsletter'' - How to sign up for electronic newsletter.

``GOP Links'' - Links to other Republican sites.

DEBAUCHE SITE

Here is a sampling of what you will find on Reform Party

gubernatorial candidate Sue Harris DeBauche's campaign Web site. The

site address is (http://www.naxs.com/

people/mcgoats/news35.htm).

MAIN PAGE:

Positions on campaign finance reform, citizens' rights, jobs,

economy, taxes, education and the environment.

E-mail link to candidate.

Link to the home page and news page of the Virginia Reform Party. KEYWORDS: GUBERNATORIAL RACE CANDIDATES INTERNET WEB PAGES

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