Mahoning County Dems launch new Web site, Chairman Betras says ‘virtual headquarters’ is one-stop resource for all things political

The Mahoning County Democratic Party has launched a new Web site, www.mahoningcountydems.org, which will, according to Chairman David Betras, serve as an important resource for voters, officeholders, teachers, students and activists seeking information about public policy, politics, history or the electoral process. The site was developed by Tyler Clark Consulting in partnership with the Party’s Communications Committee.

Mr. Betras, who during his campaign for chair pledged to substantially upgrade the Party’s presence on the Web, said the launch of the new site could not come at a more important time because it gives the Party a way to counter the lies being spread by opponents of President Obama’s health care reform proposal.

“We’ve devoted an entire page to the issue and provided links to numerous sites that provide the facts about the need for reform and the Democratic approach to accomplishing the goal of ensuring that every American has access to high quality, affordable health care,” he said.  “It’s my hope that people will visit the site and use the information to get on the phone and counter the falsehoods that are being spread on talk radio.”

Along with the health care page, the new site features links to the Web sites of local, state and national officials; news about party activities; a media page with links to articles dealing with important issues; and an education page that links to the National Archives, the Library of Congress, presidential libraries and multi-media presentations about the presidency. The site also enables citizens to volunteer to work for the party and its candidates and will be capable of accepting on-line contributions.

Chairman Betras noted that launching the new site is the first step in the Party’s drive to fully utilize the Internet’s power to influence politics and public policy. “We’ll continually update and upgrade the site to ensure that it is a dynamic tool that will educate the public, open lines of communication between officeholders and their constituents and help Democratic candidates win even the toughest elections.”

About Tyler Clark Consulting

Tyler Clark is a Youngstown-based Web strategy consultant and applications developer, creating streamlined solutions for companies and non-profits: implementing Content Management Systems (CMS), best practices in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and meaningful Social Media campaigns. Tyler emphasizes simple solutions that connect people through technology, bringing value to organizations and their constituents: "Technology is merely a tool; people provide the solutions." Past projects include work for American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), Council on Foundations (COF), Institute for Supply Management (ISM), Center for Working-Class Studies (CWCS) and Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative (MVOC).

Tyler's advice was featured in "Unmasking the Myths of SEO" in the May/June issue of Association Publishing magazine, and he is presenting workshops for local corporations at the Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI) this fall. He has also been interviewed for American Public Media's Marketplace. In developing the content management system for the new site, Tyler leveraged the open-source Drupal software platform that enables the Party to manage all Web updates in-house, saving both time and money.

For more information please contact David Betras at 330-503-9696