Bush, Gore forge tech alliances

The campaigns of Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush tout an array of well-known supporters from high-tech companies. But it's not only the headliners that have the candidates' ears.

Each campaign relies on a circle of lower-profile Internet insiders for advice on issues ranging from the design of their World Wide Web sites to the protection of consumer privacy online, from Internet sales taxes to bridging the digital divide.

Much of the campaign's high-tech support grew out of meetings Gore had across the country over the past three years, organized by venture capitalist John Doerr and known as "Goretechs" dinners. Wade Randlett, founder of Web applications developer Red Gorilla, worked with Doerr and others to start the nonpartisan political lobbying group TechNet and helped set up the Goretechs events.

More recently, Randlett has been pushing Gore and his campaign staff to address the digital divide by spreading Internet access through nominal government subsidies. One of Gore's most important outside advisers, lobbyist Greg Simon, is about to join the Gore campaign, according to people close to the campaign.

Simon worked in the White House advising on technology and telecommunications policy during President Clinton's first term. While in the private sector, Simon took on a slew of tech clients, including leading the charge for America Online and other Internet service providers seeking to force their way onto cable broadband systems.

In the Bush camp, Christina Jones, founder of pcOrder.com in Austin, Texas, got into the campaign on an invitation from Michael Dell, a competitor to the PC manufacturers in Jones' online marketplace. Both share an appreciation of Bush's business-friendly campaign agenda.

Bush aides credit Jones with the idea to use old media to drive traffic to the Bush site. A TV commercial that aired last week was designed with that in mind.

For more Internet economy news, visit TheStandard.com. Story copyright 2000 The Industry Standard. All rights reserved.