Scott W. Graves

California Republican Party Names Leadership Committee of Tech Experts

SACRAMENTO – Launching a new initiative to bring the latest and most effective new technologies to the Republican Party, California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring today announced the formation of a new Technology Leadership Committee of tech leaders to provide expertise and support to make the state Republican Party the national leader in applying new technologies in every aspect of party operations.

“Technology is rapidly changing how voters, donors, activists, elected officials and candidates network and share information.  Our objective is to make the California Republican Party the national leader in using new technologies to build the party and support our candidates for the 2010 election and beyond,” said Chairman Nehring.

The Technology Leadership Committee consists of leaders drawn from the technology and campaign sectors to bring state party operations to the leading edge of current technologies while simultaneously monitoring the development of the new technologies which are just now making their way into society.

David Kralik, Director of Internet Strategy for Newt Gingrich, will chair the effort.  Kralik, based in Silicon Valley, brings a strong technology and communications background to the position.

“Web 1.0 was about rapidly sharing information at low cost through email and websites.  Web 2.0 added social networking and lateral sharing of information through applications like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. Web 3.0 is just now in development.  We will ensure our candidates and party organizations are benefitting from all of these new technologies,” said Chairman Nehring.

The new committee includes the following leaders:

David Kralik is Director of Internet Strategy for Newt Gingrich’s initiative to identify conservative solutions to today’s public policy challenges.  Based in Silicon Valley, Kralik is responsible for outreach and building coalitions with California’s high-tech community.

Scott Graves is the President of Partisan Media Group, publisher of the Red County network of political blogs.  He earned an MBA from USC and studied political science as an undergrad.  His professional focus is on the impact of new media on news, communication and politics.

Bill Meeker is Managing Editor of TCOT Report (Top Conservatives on Twitter) and a former commander in the United States Navy.  He earned his undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins University, and his MD and Masters in English from NYU.  He is also a contributor to Red County.

Chuck DeVore is a member of the California State Assembly and a frequent blogger and user of social media and the first candidate in America to use Twitter to raise money online.

Rob Neppell is founder and president of Kithbridge, Inc. In 2002, Rob created the first blog tracking system, the TTLB Blogosphere Ecosystem, and has earned a reputation as one of the key innovators in the world of weblogs and citizens’ media.

Jeff McGee is Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of SunStar Media, a California based Website Development Company.  SunStar Media developed and manages the website of the California Republican Party, as well as numerous other Republican organizations and entities.

Jeremy McCarthy is a technology company executive and former president of the San Francisco Young Republicans.  He is a social media expert and writes political commentary.

For more information on the initiative or to participate, please send an email to tech@cagop.org.