GETTING TO KNOW WARREN

Warren Slocum currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Peninsula Television, Inc. This community media outlet serves approximately 175,000 households on the SF Peninsula with award winning programming that ranges from public affairs to childrens' theater and locally generated ethnic shows. As CEO Warren has used his executive background to reduce operating expenses, streamline operations and create expanded job training opporunities for local college students interested in communications and broadcasting. He is also proud to have created San Mateo County's first daily hyper-local news blog, Peninsula Citizen.

From 1987 to 2011, Warren Slocum reshaped government in the Digital Age as Chief Elections Officer & County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor for San Mateo County. Warrren was responsible for the conduct of all public elections and the registration of voters, the valuation of real and personal property and the recording of documents related to the private ownership of property as well as birth, death and marriage certificates.

Warren used the web to deliver fast, accurate and real-time election results, real-time assessment roll information and a host of regularly requested services to make them more convenient for people. He was the first in the country to broadcast marriage ceremonies over the Internet so that friends and families in far flung places could be part of a couple's special day. He transformed the tools used by staff to perform their vital duties, converted a paper based system to an electronic system and electronically recorded California's first truly digital real estate document. Many of his reforms were cast in legislation.

To promote confidence in the election process, Warren gave people a transparent look at elections as they were being conducted. He created the first web-based confirmation system to let vote by mail voters check to make sure that their ballot reached the Elections Office in time to be counted, the first blog, Flickr and twitter accounts, put a web cam up in the elections warehouse for the two weeks prior to the election and broadcast a live election night TV show for the 2008 Presidential election.

While in office, Warren trimmed expenses while delivering services in a common sense, service-oriented approach.

A PUBLIC EDUCATION

Warren Slocum attended college using the benefits of the G.I. Bill and graduated from San Diego State University with honors in history. He was the President of Phi Alpha Theta, an academic fraternity.

SERVED HIS COUNTRY

WORKING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Warren worked in private sector prior to launching his public sector career. He was first elected in 1986 and today is a recognized election’s expert with over twenty years’ experience in the field. He served as Chief Elections Officer & County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor  in one of the "most wired counties in America" and was responsible for the conduct of all elections and voter registration activities in San Mateo County – located in the heart of Silicon Valley."He has been called the county's highest ranking geek elected official. As a public service entrepreneur and elected official, Warren used his tremendous energy and vision to deliver "good government" with a customer friendly, common sense approach.

He describes himself as an independent problem solver, not a Sacramento insider or politician. Warren Slocum and his organization were described as "an example of responsiveness, efficiency and action by an elected official and government office which should be the model for all public agencies." In 1992 he converted the county's voting devices from old lever machines to a modern, state of the art optical scanning system. Since then he has completely changed the paradigm for elections in California and has set a new, high standard of excellence in election administration. Warren's election office was consistently praised for its efficiency and innovativeness - a Grand Jury, for instance, said, "we commend the staff of the Office of Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder for developing, implementing and continually upgrading a system of safeguards to ensure the integrity of the election process in San Mateo County." 

INNOVATING FOR SILICON VALLEY AND CALIFORNIA

Warren Slocum has contributed to his community, the Silicon Valley and to California in many ways. Here are some examples of his work:

-Conducted California's first Poll Worker Academy - an intensive educational seminar for precinct inspectors

-Published web's first blog devoted to the voting machine wars plus election reform, verified voting and democracy

-Only California Registrar of Voters to speak in support of a verified paper audit trail approach to touch screen voting before the Secretary of State's Ad Hoc Task Force on Touch Screen Voting

-Past president of the California Elected Officials Association, a non-partisan association of elected department heads and other locally elected officials

-Co-founding partner and continuing participant, Smart Voter which provides electronic sample ballots and enhanced voter education on the web

-California Internet Voting Task Force, Secretary of State's Office, Committee Member Member, Election Resource and Review Commission, International Association of Clerks, Recorders, Election Officials and Treasurers

-Conducted California's first Internet Voting Demonstration Project that had 1,200 participants in October 2000 Appointed by California Chief Justice to serve on two statewide trial court reform initiatives

-Creator, Wedding Cam, an award winning Internet based wedding broadcasting system that allows couples to broadcast their civil wedding ceremonies over the network so that family and friends from around the world could attend the ceremony in cyberspace

-First California Recorder to implement electronic recording

-Mentor, Frontiers in Leadership program that provided role models for young minority youth to become active in civic affairs with the idea of becoming civic leaders

-Civic Net Conference Co-founder, this conference brought together technology professionals, citizens and government professionals interested in building community 

-Served as a member of the Board of Directors of the California County Clerks Association

-Past President, Bay Area Assessors' Association and legislative committee member; past Chairman of the California Assessors' Association, Technology Committee; 

-Founded a LeaderAcademy at Stanford University as well as the California Trial Court Training Institute which received the prestigious Ralph Kleps Award for innovation

-Past president of the Redwood Shores Rotary and the Mid-Peninsula Boys and Girls Club

PROVEN LEADERSHIP IN SERVING THE PEOPLE

Warren is best known for producing, using the latest technologies, the fastest election results in the Bay Area. Local election administrators as well as foreign governments have sought his elections and vote counting advice. In 1997 he was selected as a member of the "US Election Observation Team" (through IFES) charged with the responsibility of evaluating presidential elections in Albania. Most recently Warren has lead the fight to make touch screen voting systems more secure (watch the video "High Tech Voting" on the Lehrer News Hour). Warren has lobbied for legislative changes that would reduce the potential for voter fraud in the absentee balloting process and has suggested several other election reform measures like verifiable paper audit trails for touch screen voting systems.

VISION, OPINIONS AND EXPERTISE

In addition to holding elective office, Warren Slocum writes on topics related to the strategic uses of the Internet in the public sector. His articles have appeared in publications like Campaigns and Elections and the California County. Annually Warren addresses many groups and professional associations on the topic of election reform and reshaping governance in the Information Age. He has appeared on TV and radio and is often quoted in the national media including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, NPR, MSNBC and CNET.