[Bsb-forum:569] Fw: [DW] A Pioneer in Online Democracy - Center for Governmental Studies Closes

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Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:14:20 -0500
From: Steven Clift <clift at e-democracy.org>
To: newswire at groups.dowire.org
Subject: [DW] A Pioneer in Online Democracy - Center for Governmental Studies Closes


Best of luck Tracy! - Steven Clift



CGS - eBulletin
                                   October 13, 2011

 Center for Governmental Studies Closes



With some sadness, but with considerable pride in our accomplishments,
we are closing the Center for Governmental Studies' offices after 28
years of service in the public interest. The recession has depleted
our funding, and we cannot continue to operate CGS in its present
form. The CGS board and leadership have therefore reluctantly
concluded that it is necessary to close.



CEO Tracy Westen and President Bob Stern, along with several former
CGS staff members, will complete pending CGS projects and move on to
other ventures. Tracy plans to continue his work on governance reform
and online democracy. Bob expects to continue work as an expert
consultant, public speaker and political commentator.



We have many people to thank for their invaluable contributions: our
brilliant Chairman Emeritus, Rocco Siciliano, and current Chair,
Stephen Rountree, who together guided CGS over the past 28 years; our
wise board of directors, who volunteered many hours of time to support
our efforts; our talented staff and interns, many of whom have moved
on to distinguished careers; our many funders, who enabled us to
contribute our creative energies to the public interest; and countless
elected officials, civic organizations and citizens across the nation,
who worked to implement our recommendations. Some of our recent staff
have found new positions; others are seeking new and challenging
opportunities; and many hope to continue working in the broader public
interest. (Our board, staff and funders are listed at www.cgs.org.)



Tracy Westen and Bob Stern can be reached as follows:



· Tracy Westen, Vice Chair and CEO: tawesten at gmail.com, 310-913-1395 (c)

·  Bob Stern, President, rstern2009 at gmail.com, 310-573-1889 (h), (310) 382-

   0904 (c)



Our CGS website (www.cgs.org) can still be accessed, as can our
PolicyArchive (www.policyarchive.org), Video Voter
(www.videovoter.org) and ConnectLA (www.connectlahousing.org)
websites. Our books and reports are available for free downloading at
www.cgs.org and www.policyarchive.org.



Over the years, we have been guided by a two-fold principle: that 21st
century democracy can only be improved by efforts both to reform the
underlying structures of government and to use new communications
technologies to inform citizens and help them participate in their
governments. To this end, CGS has researched and proposed governance
reforms and built new systems of online digital democracy. Focusing
initially on California, CGS has also used its expertise to advise
state and local governments across the nation.



Over almost three decades, CGS created a number of important projects:



California Commission on Campaign Financing, which published landmark
reports on California state, local and judicial campaign financing,
drafted the model laws which became Propositions 68 and 208 on the
1988 and 1996 state ballots, and published the most comprehensive set
of ballot initiative reforms in the nation.

California Citizens Budget Commission, which in 1995 and 1998
recommended dozens of state budget reforms, some of which have now
been enacted and some which are still being debated for
implementation.

California Citizens Commission on Higher Education, which made
important recommendations, now needed more than ever, for solving
California's debilitating "boom-and-bust" cycle of funding for higher
education.

California Channel (www.CalChannel.com), the nation's largest
satellite-fed, public affairs cable television channel, now serving
close to six million homes with gavel-to-gavel coverage of the state
legislature's floor sessions and committee hearings, governor's press
conferences and occasional California supreme Court oral arguments,
and operated 24 hours a day by the California Cable Television
Association.

National Center on State and Local Campaign Finance Reform, which
published books, studies and charts on the public financing laws of
all the 50 states and numerous detailed reports on individual state
and local campaign financing systems.

Democracy Network, the nation's first and largest online source of
candidate debates and voter information, which CGS prototyped in 1994,
launched in 1996, built a Spanish-language version for Venezuela in
1998, installed in the nation's first digital cable network, Time
Warner's state-of-the-art "Full Service Network in Orlando, Florida,
partnered with AOL and 1998 and 2000 to offer candidate information to
millions of users, and operated in partnership with the National
League of Women Voters and Grassroots.com through 2001.

PolicyArchive (www.PolicyArchive.org), the world's largest, free,
online source of public policy research, now providing instant access
to over 33,000 public policy documents.

Video Voter (www.videovoter.org), a way for cities and states to offer
candidates and ballot measure committees free opportunities to
communicate their views to the public in video-on-demand formats, via
broadcast television, cable television, YouTube ("centgov") and the
Internet -opportunities which New York City, Los Angeles, Santa Monica
and other cities now provide on a continuing basis.

ConnectLA (www.ConnectLAHousing.org), the nation's first website to
provide low income communities with access to information on
affordable housing, jobs, healthcare and government services.

Digital Democracy (www.digidem.org), an online prototype for a new
system of digital, citizen-to-elected official communication.

HealthVote and CalHealthReform, websites operated in partnership with
the California HealthCare Foundation to inform voters of legislative
and ballot initiative measure developments in healthcare.



In addition, CGS published over 70 books and reports on a wide range
of campaign finance and governance topics, including in-depth studies
of laws in California, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North
Carolina (judicial) and Wisconsin, as well as local governments
Albuquerque, Los Angeles (city and judicial), New York, Portland, San
Francisco, Suffolk County, New York, Tucson and 15 other local
California jurisdictions. CGS also administered the Council on
Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL), pioneered the field of online
campaign filing and disclosures, and proposed innovative campaign
finance reforms.



In other areas, CGS co-founded the Voting Studies Institute with USC
to develop verifiable voting systems, explored online ballot
initiative circulation, built websites for NextTen, LA Health Action
and California 2000 and published a report, based on over 100
interviews, calling for the creation of a new Sacramento Policy
Center.



We are proud of this record. However, all good things must come to an
end. Happily, endings often have a way of becoming exciting
beginnings.



Best wishes to you all, and thank you sincerely for your loyal support
over the years.



Tracy Westen                                  Bob Stern

Vice-Chair and CEO                       President








ABOUT CGS
The Center for Governmental Studies is a 501(c)(3) organization
founded in 1983. For over 28 years, CGS has helped civic
organizations, decision-makers and the media to strengthen democracy
and improve government processes by providing rigorous research,
nonpartisan analyses, strategic consulting and innovative media models
of public information and civic engagement.


Center for Governmental Studies

310-470-6590