Pegasus News May 2007 campaign survey

On March 19, 2007, we sent a survey to every contested candidate running for a Dallas / Fort Worth office in the May, 2007 election. Below is the exact text of the letter they received:

 «Candidate»
«Address»
«City», TX «Zip»

March 19, 2007

Dear «Candidate»:

Pegasus News is covering the May elections for our more than 212,000 monthly readers to an extent no other media outlet has attempted before. We have a government section featuring every single elected official and candidate in Dallas, Tarrant, Colin, Denton and Rockwall Counties.

A good entry point for our political information is at: http://www.pegasusnews.com/politics/.

We have several editorial items that we are offering/asking of every candidate:

1.    We will record an interview, either by phone or on video in our offices with any candidate who wishes to do so. These interviews will run as news stories on our site, featured on the neighborhood pages affected by your race and will be archived on your candidate page. You can see an example here: http://www.pegasusnews.com/people/gary-griffith/.

To schedule your interview, please contact me. While we are offering interviews to all candidates, we will not guarantee interviews for anyone who schedules less than two weeks prior to the election.

2.    Please fill out and return the attached candidate survey. Because we are covering more than 650 local candidates, we have kept the questions to the point and applicable to any race. Your responses will be posted on your candidate page, unedited. If you do not return your survey by April 2, 2007, we will indicate to your constituents that you did not respond. You may email your answers or fax to 214-363-9304.

3.    Be aware that your candidate page on Pegasus News has open comments. That means that your constituents may be talking about your campaign and asking questions on our site. We encourage you to bookmark your page and check it regularly. We hope you’ll also choose to engage in the conversation too.

We look forward to doing our part to make sure that the electorate in «City» is better informed when entering the voting booth than ever before. Thank you for your interest in serving your community.

Best regards,


Alan Cohen
Senior Editor
 
Pegasus News Candidate Survey Form

Email or fax to 214-363-9304 by 4/2/07

Name: «Candidate»
Organization: «Organization_name»
Office Sought: «Candidate_type» «District__Place»
Email: «email»

1.    What is the one greatest thing that «Organization_name» has achieved in the past year?

2.    What is the single biggest improvement that «Organization_name» needs?

3.    What is the toughest problem that you have ever solved?

4.    If you are elected and can only achieve ONE quantifiable thing in your term, what would you want it be?
Note: “Increased harmony” or “Better schools” are not acceptable answers. We’re looking for measurable things like “20% less crime” or “50 new businesses relocating here.”