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One of the goals of this campaign was to provide our supporters with a variety of online tools to help them get engaged and take part in our movement. That’s why, last week, we released a new Facebook application that we want to share with you. Our grassroots supporters can now pledge to vote for Mayor Villaraigosa and share their pledge with all their friends by adding the application.

By taking the pledge, you’ll be letting your friends and family know how you’ll be voting this March 3rd and helping to spread our message to your community. It’s what makes the internet such a powerful tool: the invaluable capacity to connect us directly to our grassroots supporters and their own communities of influence. Check the app out here:

We also wanted to give you a first look at our new ad, just released today. Markham Middle School student Zoe Hodge describes the considerable progress in her neighborhood thanks to Mayor Villaraigosa’s crackdown on crime and close involvement in improving LA schools. We’re proud to have Zoe and her family’s support and vote. Join them by adding the Antonio for LA Facebook Application and pledging your vote as well.

One of the biggest lessons learned from Barack Obama’s historic campaign and election has been the power of the internet to harness and direct the strength that you, the grassroots online supporters, bring to a campaign. As campaigns are increasingly won and lost online, they become more and more a campaign by and for the people. Instead of the old model of top-down politics, we can see that online activists working together can truly build a campaign from the ground up.

We want you to have that kind of access and power in this campaign, which is why we want you to join us at the Mayor’s Facebook page. Building a strong and active online community will help us build the vision of a green, safe, and strong Los Angeles that we all share. But to create that community, I need your help to recruit your friends and make the Mayor’s Facebook page a place where we can all come together and look to the future. Here are a few quick tips:

1. Become a supporter. The quickest way to start growing our numbers is for you to make sure you’ve signed up as a supporter. And better yet, when you become a supporter, your friends will see it in their News Feeds, so just by joining you’ll be helping spread the word! Click here to visit Mayor Villaraigosa’s Page and become a supporter right now!
2. Click the Share button on the page. By sharing the page, it will be posted to your profile and in your friends’ News Feeds. You can also add a comment about why you are supporting Mayor Villaraigosa’s candidacy and why you think others would want to as well!
3. Post a link to my page in your Facebook status. Use a message like, “Join me in supporting Mayor Villaraigosa!” and include this link to the page: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Antonio-Villaraigosa/29657564614
4. Write a note about why you’re supporting my campaign and tag your friends in it. Then, include a link to the page (http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Antonio-Villaraigosa/29657564614) so they can join us!
5. Email your friends. Share your story about why you’re supporting Mayor Villaraigosa’s candidacy for Mayor with your friends by email. The most powerful story you can share is your own. Then, include a link to our page (http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Antonio-Villaraigosa/29657564614) and encourage them to tell their friends as well!

At the Mayor’s Facebook page, the Mayor, myself, and other staff will be posting videos, articles, and messages for the community, but you will also have the chance to share your videos, photos, and thoughts. Together, we can discuss the future of Los Angeles and ways to make it brighter for everyone.

I hope you’ll go over, sign up and get involved in the discussion. It’s just one more way for you to join us as we work to bring people together and get things done. See you there! -Dan