Citizens for Reform Political Action Committee - www.citizens4reform.org

Site Version 1:  After Carlos Alvarez was elected Mayor of Miami-Dade County, his supporters formed a political action committee to help promote the three major reforms that he campaigned on.  The goal of the PAC is to put three referendums on a ballot, so the site is not really any different than any campaign site.  Visitors expect these features:

1. Simple messages get the point across

2. Honesty in talking about the issues

3. Generous background information

4. Schedule of public events

The color scheme of this site intentionally mirrors that of the Carlos Alvarez for Mayor campaign site.  The word "citizen" is embedded in the graphics throughout the site to help drive home that it is the citizens, not government who will enact these reforms.  The domain name was abbreviated to citizens4reform, and the first page played on that number to define four reasons why these reforms should be enacted.

Besides providing the text of the referendums and arguing for them, the main feature of the site is a blog which provides a commentary on articles both for and against the referendums.  Major contributions to the blog are logged on the home page with direct links to the blog entries.  The site also includes:

• A calendar of public events where the referendums will be discussed
• PAC offices and detailed directions so that voters can find and sign petitions
• Volunteer registration and information, including printable versions of the petitions

The site was designed to include an open discussion forum.  Unfortunately, the competing factions have misused the forum frequently to make misrepresentations about the issues.  Point taken and lesson learned.  Without close moderation a forum can be a dangerous thing.

Site Version 2: After the petition drive it is expected that the site will be redesigned as the focus shifts to educating voters about the referendums.

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