Lake County Auditor Websites: Edge to New Candidates

The latest Madville Times poll asked "Which Lake County Auditor candidate has the best website?" This is far from a comprehensive question about which candidate is best for the job. Nonetheless, the ability of the candidates to put together a good website reflects the attention they may give to a much-needed update of the county's online presence.

So what did you think?

Shelli Gust	23 (37%)
Nichole Schlueter	24 (38%)
Bobbi Janke	16 (25%)

Thanks for voting! The relative newcomers to the office come out ahead of the veteran auditor's office employee. Do they have better sites?

From a Web design perspective, probably. Gust and Schlueter appear to use web hosting services that offer nice neat templates for their pages, with external style sheets to give every page a uniform look. Janke's appears to be homebrewed HTML.

Of course, that also means more load time. Gust's home page accesses 20 distinct URL's to load its style rules and images, Schlueter's loads 14. Janke's loads 2, both within her domain.

Basic as it is, Janke's website looks most like a campaign website. Open her page, and her name and photo leap out. Big font, big head shot. Slogan, election info links, e-mail to contact her, pow, right up front. Gust and Schlueter go for more understated headers and family pics in which neither woman is really a focal point. Schlueter's picture is actually smaller than the stock biz-handshake header image included in her template. Family pics are fine, but Bobbi includes hers on a separate "Family" subpage, where I would argue it belongs. If a campaign is a sales pitch, the focus on the front page needs to be the product you're selling, and that product is the person on the ballot. Gust has a good solo shot on her Contact page that would work better on the front page.

Style matters only to the extent it supports the substance. I don't care if a website for a candidate or for the county is fancy; I just want the information.

Gust and Schlueter both pile more information up front, on the home page. Schlueter does a little better here, asking for our vote right at the top, then going straight to Education and Experience. Gust runs the "About Me" text first... which says as much about hubby Brandon and her sons as it does about the person whose name will be on the ballot; I have to scroll down to get to the qualifications for the job.

Janke isn't far behind on this sales point: her Home page asks for the job; the Experience page is just a click away. Oddly, though, that Experience link is listed after her "Community Service" link. I have a community service section on my résumé—you likely do, too—but it comes at the end. Given that Janke's huge advantage is her 22 years of experience as DeputyAuditor, that link should be first. I'd say the same to Gust and Schlueter about their placement of Education above Experience; college is important, but not as important as relevant professional work.

All three candidates make the case that they'd be good at the job. Gust gets an edge for providing on the front page an outline of specific duties of the Auditor (good education—some people may not know what the auditor does). She also makes the only clear policy proposal on any of the candidate sites, to put more county information online.

Gust also tickles my citizen-participation vibe by asking on the Home page specifically for our thoughts on what could be done better in the Auditor's office and offering her e-mail address and phone number. Gust and Schlueter both provide full contact info on her Contact page. Gust offers Facebook and Twitter links; Schlueter offers a Facebook link. Janke offers her e-mail address on the front page.

However, don't think Janke doesn't know links. Janke gets kudos as the only candidate of the three to take advantage of external links to provide more information about the election. She links to the Auditor's office and Pierre's voter registration page.

One small secular quibble: Janke's first line on Community Service highlights her membership at Trinity Lutheran Church. Schlueter's About mentions her membership at Our Savior's Lutheran. I don't have a problem with Lutherans, but I appreciate the absence of any mention of religion on Gust's site.

I hate to sound wishy-washy, an honest case can be made for the quality of each website. Janke lacks current Web style, but she markets better up front and uses links to connect with outside information. Schlueter and Gust take advantage of templates for sharper design. Schlueter puts more relevant information up front, while Gust offers the best specific voting issue with the only explicit pitch for more county Web action.

Janke Files Petition for Auditor; Gust Files Petition and Website!

Lake County Auditor Kay Schmidt announced her retirement this week, saying 24 years running our elections was plenty.

I figured someone in her office would apply for promotion, as she did back in 1986. Sure enough, deputy auditor Bobbi Janke has filed a petition to run for the office. But so has Shelli Gust, wife of intrepid conservation officer Brandon Gust.

Now Janke has the apparent advantage. She's worked in the courthouse for 22 years. Gust moved to Madison in 2006, and as my wife will attest, it takes a long time for Madison folk to stop referring to you as a new girl. She has worked in the courthouse (or at least the Public Safety building next door) for just three years as legal assistant to the State's Attorney.

But Gust gets my attention talking Web and by using Web. She sends out a press release by e-mail to announce her candidacy and her campaign website. She has a website. She also makes government openness, online and off, a priority:

I know there are many ways that I can help make the Auditor's Office more accessible and open to the citizens of Lake County. Outside of performing the day to day duties of the County Auditor, I would like to further develop the Auditor's website and make it a resource for the citizens of Lake County to obtain information. I would like to see the County Commission Agendas, County Ordinances, and other public records of interest be made available online.

Oh yeah! Those are the magic words! I've been grumbling about the barely functional Lake County website for years. Our local paper and radio station do an o.k. job of reporting what the commission is up to, but putting agendae and minutes online, as the City of Madison does, would be a great step forward in letting us check the record ourselves. Putting ordinances and election information online would also be a plus. And when I say "election information," I don't mean a paltry three temporary lines line Madison Central gets press for; I mean election results and historical archives. Perhaps Gust can promote a local version of the rock-'em-sock-'em website our Secretary of State offers to help us keep track of elections.

Of course, maybe Janke can, too. We have eight months to talk plans and qualifications. But with her website and e-mail announcement, Gust shows me she's ready to launch some county Web innovation on Day 1.

By the way, Gust is a Republican. Janke is a Democrat.

Openness is what the auditor's office is all about. The Web is the perfect venue to promote 24-7 openness. I hope we'll hear a lot about that from both candidates.