On-Line Site Is Opened For City Politics Debate

The Cambridge Town Crier, a daily on-line news wire, yesterday launched an interactive forum for Cantabrigians to discuss this year's City Council race.

"It contains lots of voter information and information about national campaigns, but clearly with a very local focus," Town Crier Editor John Altobello said of the new discussion site on the World Wide Web, a navigation system for browsing the Internet.

As part of the site, which is called Cambridge Election Dimensions, 1995, the 18 candidates for City Council have responded to questions on issues including business and employment, the environment, education and social justice.

Altobello said he hopes the site will create a dialogue between citizens and the candidates.

"It's a much more direct way of government involvement," he said.

The Web site contains a form which viewers can fill out to express their opinions and ask candidates questions. The comments will be presented to the candidates at an event next month.

Although the site contains biographical information about the candidates, it is not meant as a campaign forum, Altobello said.

"There will be clickable links to candidate information," Altobello said.

Altobello said he expects Harvard students to take advantage of the site.

"It's an opportunity for greater awareness and involvement in the community they live in, even if it's only a transient involvement," he said.

The news wire and election section are sponsored by the Center for Civic Networking, an organization aimed at using technology to enhance civic activity. The site is run by volunteers and sponsored by local businesses.

The Town Crier is a listing of announcements and cultural events in the city. The Web site for the Cambridge Town Crier and Cambridge Election Dimensions, 1995, is http://www.civic.net:2401/ctc.html.