by Marian Shostrom and Cindy Mataraso, Voter’s Edge County Coordinators

A dedicated team of volunteers began work in mid-August so that Contra Costa County voters could learn as much as possible about local candidates and measures before casting their ballots. Marian Shostrom and Cindy Mataraso coordinated the efforts of the team, planned and offered training, and made presentations to community groups.

The Coordinator Team included Patti Bittenbender, Sue Brandy, Kathi Bruce, Tiffany Martin, Cindy Mataraso, Carol Murota, Marian Shostrom, Claire Spanbock , and Abigail Yeates. These volunteers worked on the back end of Voter’s Edge, the DES (data entry system). They also researched candidate contact information (email and phone numbers), finalized contests, emailed and called candidates, reviewed and approved candidate entries and photos, responded to candidate questions, and added information, such as Zoom links to candidate forums, and videos of forums. The Coordinator Team researched and posted information about Local Measures, including News, Editorials, Op-Eds, and Letters to the Editor.

Beginning in mid-September, a separate group of volunteers made phone calls to candidates to encourage them to post a profile on Voter’s Edge. Volunteers Juliana Boyle, Elaine Carroll, Colleen Coll, Ashia Derksen, Michele Downes, William Goodwin, Linda Lang, Silla Taylor, and LWV West County volunteers Madeline Kronenberg and Cheryl Collier were very successful in getting additional candidates to post profiles. Candidates have been grateful for the opportunity to tell voters about themselves and their priorities using the Voter’s Edge platform.

As of a week before the November 2020 Election, 83% of the 294 Contra Costa candidates have profiles on Voter’s Edge. We thank the nineteen volunteers who spent many hours to make this happen--it was definitely a team effort!