California GOP Gubernatorial Candidates Tom Campbell and Steve Poizner Respond to Twitter Questions During Orange County Debate

Meg Whitman Declines Twitter Debate at Brandman University in Irvine
IRVINE, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
On Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009, 270 business and community leaders, Brandman and
Chapman University professors and staff, political bloggers and members of the
media attended a California gubernatorial debate between Republicans Tom
Campbell and Steve Poizner at Brandman University in Irvine based in Orange
County. Brandman University issued the debate invitation to Republican
candidates via Twitter with Campbell and Poizner tweeting their acceptance (Meg
Whitman declined).

Candidates responded to four Twitter questions at the Brandman debate with more
than 90 questions posed to the candidates via Twitter. All questions for
candidates were to be submitted via Twitter using the hashtag #cadebate. See all
Twitter submitted questions.

The tweeted questions candidates responded to included:

* What do you see as the biggest challenges in our state`s tax system and what
changes do you propose to overcome them?
* Should marijuana be legalized and taxed, thus generating billions of dollars
in tax revenue?
* As governor, what do you propose to do to halt illegal migration from other
countries into California and secure our state?
* The California infrastructure is in shambles. What types of public works
projects, if any, would be your top priorities?

The Brandman University debate was believed to be the first political debate
between California`s gubernatorial candidates organized via Twitter.

"By making innovative use of social media platforms like Twitter, we are able to
engage more people in the issues and provide accessibility to candidates from
anywhere at anytime," said Dr. Fred Smoller, Director of the Masters in Public
Administration program at Brandman University.

While candidates responded to Twitter questions and questions posed by panelists
Dr. Michael Moodian, Assistant Professor of Social Science at Brandman
University, and Dan Walters of The Sacramento Bee, audience members tweeted
their reactions to candidates` statements while bloggers spread their opinions
in real-time.

Poizner commented that it was his daughter`s 18th birthday that same night and
publicly thanked her for teaching him how to tweet. "There is no doubt that we
need to grow the Republican party and by engaging new and young voters through
social media outlets like Twitter is an excellent start," added Poizner.

Campbell applauded Brandman University for execution of a well-structured and
innovative debate. "Brandman has really raised the bar for other educational
institutions. Their forward-thinking and media savvy have helped spread a
high-quality discussion of the issues to a great number of Californians," said
Campbell.

Ed Arnold, co-host of KOCE`s "Real Orange" moderated the debate while KOCE-TV
broadcast the debate live. Watch the debate in its entirety. View a video put
together by Steve Poizner`s team on how Twitter is changing political campaigns.

Brandman University

Brandman University, which is accredited by the Western Association of Schools
and Colleges, focuses on meeting the unique needs of the more than 10,000
working students it serves both online and through 25 campuses in California and
Washington. Brandman University is part of the Chapman University system and is
known for providing students with in-demand degree and certificate programs.
www.brandman.edu

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ripeorange
Kristin Bush
Communications Director
949-261-7473
kristin@ripeorangeinc.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009