WEB HELPS BUSINESS OWNERS JUDGE CANDIDATES ENTREPRENEURS CAN USE SITE TO GET PLUGGED INTO CAMPAIGNS.

Byline: Chris Sieroty Staff Writer

SAN FERNANDO - Political involvement for many small business owners is as American as apple pie and baseball.

For Martha Diaz Aszkenazy, president of Pueblo Contracting Services, being involved in another American tradition - the political season, which kicks off this Labor Day weekend - gives her the opportunity to attract more economic development to the northeast San Fernando Valley.

``At this point, there isn't enough communication with our state or federal legislators, which is mostly our fault, but we are working on improving the lines of communication,'' Aszkenazy said.

In this election year, Aszkenazy, a member of the Northeast San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce, says she and other small business owners in the city of San Fernando want those courting their vote to focus on several issues.

Besides economic development, Aszkenazy wants politicians to help underserved communities attract high-paying jobs and also assist small business owners by making access to affordable loan programs easier.

Small-business owners, like Aszkenazy, may be one of the largest voting blocks in the country, but organizing any of them into an effective lobbing group can be a difficult task.

The National Federation of Independent Business, which describes itself as a lobbying group for small-business owners, has turned to the information superhighway to get its message out to 600,000 members nationwide.

The election-oriented Web site caters to independent business owners, said Dennis Whitfield, NFIB senior vice president.

The nonprofit site, www.smallbusinessvotes.org, aims to help business owners evaluate candidates running for federal and state offices in this year's election.

``This goes several steps beyond the typical political information center,'' said Whitfield. ``We've built an online gateway to increased political involvement for small-business owners.''

The site provides direct links putting visitors in touch with candidates who favor a pro-small business agenda.

``Our site gives our members all the resources they need to get involved in the process and make a difference,'' said Sharon Wolff, director of campaign services at NFIB.

Wolff said the site also offers information about key political dates, such as voter registration deadlines, primary election schedules and convention dates.

Other links connect visitors with more general political operations, such as the Republican and Democratic congressional committees, the National Governors Association and the Federal Election Commission.

With Election Day less than three months away, both the Bush and Gore campaigns recognize that small business owners will play an important role if either one is going to capture the White House on Nov. 7.

Both candidates are already setting their sights on capturing the votes of small business owners.

``The governor has enjoyed close ties to small businesses in Texas, whose members are heard in the community and need to be better heard in Washington,'' said Tucker Eskew, a spokesman with the Bush For President campaign in Austin, Texas.

Eskew said Web sites, including smallbusinessvotes.org, offer business owners and their employees access to information they need to make an informed choice.

``Gov. Bush believes small businesses are often the heartbeat of small town America,'' he said.

On the other side of the political isle, David Chai, a spokesman for the Gore 2000 campaign in California said the vice president's campaign is heavily involved in making maximum use of the Internet.

``We encourage small business owners in California to use the Internet to learn more about our candidate's positions on business issues. Al Gore is out there fighting for small business,'' Chai said.

Besides offering links to both political parties and candidates, Whitfield said in a section reserved for NFIB members only, lists all congressional candidates endorsed by the organization's political action committee.

It also updates members on NFIB's political fund-raising and volunteer recruitment programs.

Unlike campaigns in recent years, the Internet has played a vital role so far in this election cycle. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., for example, used the Web to raise awareness and money for his failed attempt to capture the 2000 Republican Presidential nomination.

Other special interest groups with a presence online include the Valley Industry and Commerce Association.

Scott Schmidt, VICA's government liaison director, says like the NFIB, the group uses the Internet to inform members of legislation that could affect their small businesses.

Based in Woodland Hills, VICA is nonpartisan group advocacy group for Valley businesses.

Schmidt said the group's Web site, www.vica.com, regularly polls its membership on different issues affecting the business community.

The next stage is to put elected officials online to chat with our members, Schmidt said.

``Small-business owners constitute a tremendous voter block,'' Whitfield said. ``They tend to be more involved in the process than other segments of the population primarily because they realize that policy decisions made by elected officials directly affect their ability to turn a profit.''

A 1998 post-election survey by American Viewpoint found that nearly one in three small business owners and employees voting that year also had volunteered on behalf of a political candidate. More than a third had contributed to candidate campaigns.

Wolff said among NFIB members, political giving is even more pronounced, with more than 65 percent reporting that they made a financial contribution to at least one candidate in the 1998 elections.