|
|||||||||
 |
 |
An economic development foundation of the Governor's Strategic Partnership for Economic Development (GSPED) |
|
||||||
|
|||||||||
| ATIC > Press Releases > July 20, 2004 | |||||||||
ATIC Press Release: July 20, 2004
| CONTACTS | |
|
Phoenix Oris Friesen (602) 992-4504 oris@cox.net |
Tucson Steve Peters (520) 321-1309 stevepeters@tucsonlink.org |
Additional information: http://www.arizonatele.com/atic/election/acc04debate.html
ATIC and CCEC Sponsor Arizona Corporation Commission Debates
Phoenix, Arizona - On July 13, 2004 Republican Primary opponents Kris Mayes and Carl Seel squared off in the first of two Corporation Commission candidate debates to be broadcast over the Internet. The debate, sponsored by the Arizona Telecommunications and Information Council (ATIC) and the Citizens Clean Elections Commission (CCEC), was taped before a live audience at the University of Advancing Technology (UAT) and simultaneously broadcast over the Internet. More than 60 people attended in person. Another 30-40 viewed the web cast. Spanish and sign language translation were provided. If you missed the event, not to worry, you can still catch the debate. ATIC will be distributing video copies of the debates to Arizona's broadcast media this week and it is available on demand from the ATIC web site at http://www.arizonatele.com/atic/election/acc04debate.html.
Oris Friesen, ATIC Vice Chair, said that: "this year Arizona voters will have the opportunity to vote for four of the five members of the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC). To help them better understand the importance of the ACC, and to become acquainted with the positions of the candidates, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission selected the Arizona Telecommunications and Information Council to host, and web cast, the 2004 primary and general election debates for ACC candidates. The general election debate is scheduled for October 7. While the Corporation Commission is little understood by the public, this powerful body will make important decisions that will impact their safety and quality of life, economic development, and the future of the state. The Commission makes decisions that affect the quality of service, utility rates, and future investments by public utilities, including telecommunications, water, electric and gas; serves as watchdogs that oversee our corporations and protects us from investment scams and fraud; and insures public safety for railroads and pipelines".
ATIC is using the debates to showcase advanced web technology. "Telecommunications has come a long way in the past few years and web broadcasting allows anyone in AZ to watch the debates and participate in the political process," said ATIC Secretary Mark Goldstein, "you just need a computer and an Internet connection." "We were pleased with the success of the primary debate and look forward to an even better debate in October. Our thanks goes out to our partners, AVNET and Kino Digital who make all of the web casting and video production possible," said Goldstein.
GENERAL ELECTION LIVE PRESENTATION AND INTERNET WEB CAST
The general election debate will be presented in front of a live audience at the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe. With the assistance of AVNET and Kino Communications the debate will also be web cast live over the Internet. Following the debate the web cast will be available for on-demand access from the ATIC Web Site at http://www.arizonatele.com/atic/election/acc04debate.html
LOCATION AND SCHEDULE FOR DEBATES
DETAILS, CONTACTS, INTERPRETERS
People with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation by contacting Oris Friesen (602) 992-4504 or atic@researchedge.com
Benefits
This project accomplishes several things. It gives Arizona the opportunity to educate a broader audience about the Corporation Commission, who they are, what they do and how they impact the state, particularly, economic development. We will be reaching out to educators statewide to encourage students to learn about the ACC and view live debates. It will give other interested parties throughout the state the opportunity to see the candidates debate the issues. It is also an opportunity for ATIC to demonstrate the use of these technologies for elections.
ARIZONA CORPORATION COMMISSION (ACC)
The Arizona Corporation Commission is an independent regulatory body created by the Arizona Constitution. There are 5 members of the Commission elected by the public to a four-year term. The commission is the state regulatory authority that makes decisions that affect the quality of service, utility rates, and future investments by public utilities, including telecommunications, water, electric and gas. By state law, public service utilities are regulated monopolies. In most states, the Commission is known as the Public Service Commission or the Public Utility Commission. Our Commission, however, has responsibilities that go beyond traditional public utilities regulation.
The Commission oversees corporations including granting corporate status for businesses and organizations and maintaining public records. They serve as watchdogs ensuring the integrity of the securities marketplace and protecting the public from investment scams and fraud. The Commission also insures the safe operations of railroads and gas pipelines in Arizona.
The Commissioners have the ultimate responsibility for final decisions on granting or denying rate adjustments, enforcing safety and public service requirements, and approving securities matters. By virtue of the Arizona Constitution, the Commissioners function in an Executive capacity, they adopt rules and regulations thereby functioning in a Legislative capacity, and they act in a judicial capacity sitting as a tribunal and making decisions in contested matters. More information on the ACC can be found on the web site at http://www.cc.state.az.us/
HISTORY AND 2002 DEBATES
This is not ATIC's first experience with debate sponsorship and webcasting. During the 2002 election cycle ATIC made history when it delivered the issues live to desktops throughout the state via a live webcast of the Gubernatorial and Corporation Commission debates. Oris Friesen, Chair of the ATIC Government Affairs Committee said: "Based upon our research we believe we were the first in the country to webcast a live statewide debate. It was certainly a first for Arizona. We want to top what we did in 2002 and the Commission debates seem like a natural fit for us. We're glad the CCEC agreed."
ARIZONA TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION COUNCIL
ATIC is a foundation of the Governor's Strategic Partnership for Economic Development (GSPED) - ATIC is Arizona's recognized and authoritative organization guiding technology policy development, 
serving as a leading source of information and expertise on telecommunications and information technology matters. ATIC develops, promotes and supports initiatives and guides adoption of effective public policies that encourages wide-scale deployment and availability of telecommunications services and information technologies to insure economic prosperity for the Arizona community, expand the region's global competitive advantage, enable continued educational advancement and support an enhanced quality of life.
More information on ATIC, its activities and events can be found on the web site at: http://www.arizonatele.com/atic/, or contact atic@researchedge.com or (602) 254-5887
CITIZENS CLEAN ELECTIONS COMMISSION (CCEC)
The Citizens Clean Elections Act is a campaign finance reform measure that was initiated by Arizona citizens and passed by voters in 1998. The Act created a new campaign financing system that provides full public funding to qualified candidates who agree to abide by Citizens Clean Elections Commission (CCEC) guidelines. Candidates for statewide offices (governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, corporation commissioner or mine inspector) and legislative offices (house of representatives and senate) are eligible to participate in the public funding program. More information on CCEC can be found on the web site at http://www.ccec.state.az.us/
AVNET CORPORATE BROADCAST CENTER
The AVNET Corporate Broadcast Center (CBS) is Arizona's premier broadcast and video production facility. Conveniently located near Sky Harbor Airport at Phoenix at 2617 S. 46th Street, 
this 12,000 sq/ft facility is dedicated to the needs of corporate video producers. With a complement of services including video production, satellite broadcasting, web development/webcasting, post-production, video conferencing and news service links to all major network broadcast facilities, the Corporate Broadcast Center is a one-stop shop for full turnkey production support. Facility tours are available by request. More information can be found at http://www.Avnet.tv/.
KINO COMMUNICATIONS
Kino Communications is a leading software provider for enhanced communication, leveraging proprietary technology and unique competencies in the networked delivery of digital media. 
Our software solutions allow streaming audio and video transmission to keep pace with the demands of increasingly integrated and networked systems. Kino Communications' powerful software suite accelerates convergence. That's why our standards-based technologies are built on commercially-accepted architectures. In addition, Kino Communications offers a range of "second wave" managed solutions including planning, implementation, and maintenance services of dedicated wireless media transmission infrastructure. We also can employ state-of-the-art audio and video compression and encryption technologies on behalf of our customers. More information can be found at http://www.kinodigital.com/.
UNIVERSITY OF ADVANCING TECHNOLOGY
The University of Advancing Technology is an ACICS accredited private university located in Tempe, Arizona. Designed to bring faculty, students and industry leaders together in a unique environment, the University continues to serve as a leader in education and the latest technologies. The school offers Associate, Bachelor and Master degrees in Multimedia, Software Engineering and Technology Commerce, as well as professional development training. More information can be found at http://www.uat.edu/.
Contact: Mark Goldstein, Secretary, Arizona Telecommunications & Information Council (ATIC), Voice & Fax: 602-470-0389, markg@researchedge.com