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News Release


MEDIA ADVISORY: SF State experts available to comment on presidential election

Faculty expertise includes African-American politics; Hispanic politics; opinion polls; campaign communication; gender and media


In the run up to the California primary and beyond, San Francisco State University has experts in political science, communication studies and broadcast and electronic communication arts who are available to comment on the election.

Robert C. Smith, Ph.D.

Professor of Political Science Robert C. Smith is a nationally-recognized expert on African-American voting patterns, national politics, Congress and the presidency. He is author of the "Encyclopedia of African American Politics" and is currently completing a book on the relationship between conservatism and racism in America.

"Obama is a black man trying to run for president by pretending he is not black," Smith said. "Historically, when the election race is about black and white, the more liberal party loses. Obama understands this. So do the Clintons. They have made race into an issue, and this will only disadvantage the Democratic Party no matter who the frontrunner is."

Contact Smith at (415) 338-7524 (office) or rcs@sfsu.edu.

David H. Tabb, Ph.D.

Professor of Political Science David Tabb is an authority on African-American and Hispanic politics in California, national politics, statewide and municipal elections, urban politics, and public opinion polls.

"What we saw in New Hampshire was 'The Hilary Effect,'" Tabb said. "Obama didn't do worse than expected; Clinton did better than expected, with a higher than normal turnout of female voters. My suspicion is that the gender gap will be greater than the race gap as the contest progresses."

Contact Tabb at (415) 338-2736 (office) or dtabb@sfsu.edu.

Frances Neely, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Political Science, Frances Neely is an expert on independent voters, parties and partisanship, political psychology, media and politics, women and minorities in politics, and electoral processes.

Contact Neely at (415) 338-1522 (office) or fneely@sfsu.edu.

Graham Boushey, Ph.D.

Boushey is an assistant professor of political science and is an expert on California politics.

Contact Boushey at (415) 338-6888 (office) or gboushey@sfsu.edu.

Joseph Tuman, Ph.D.

Tuman is a professor of communication studies who has spent more than two decades following political campaigns, both in academia and as a campaign worker, media consultant and political analyst for television news. Tuman has just published a new book, "Political Communication in American Campaigns." He can comment on campaign communications including speeches, debates, television commercials, negative advertising and new media.

Contact Tuman at (415) 338-1813 (office) or joetuman@sfsu.edu.

Dorothy Tsuruta, Ph.D.

Africana Studies Department Chair Dorothy Tsuruta can provide perspective on the issues of race and gender; the differences between white feminists and black womanists with regard to the Obama candidacy; and issues of concern to all African-Americans regardless of political party or beliefs.

Contact Tsuruta at (415) 338-2352 (office) or dtsuruta@sfsu.edu.

Belinda Reyes, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Raza Studies and Researcher at the Cesar Chavez Institute, Belinda Reyes can comment on the Latino vote and issues surrounding immigration.

Contact Reyes at (415) 378-5301 or reyesb@sfsu.edu.

Miriam Smith, Ph.D.

Smith is an assistant professor of broadcast and electronic communication arts (BECA). She can comment on the ethics and responsibility of the media in relation to how they cover leadership candidates and their race, gender and religion.

Contact Smith at (415) 338-1611 (office) or miriam@sfsu.edu.

Melissa Camacho, Ph.D.

Camacho is an associate professor of BECA. She can comment on feminist issues and the mass media, with special expertise in television.

Contact Melissa Camacho at (415) 338-6526 (office) or mcamacho@sfsu.edu.
She is available for interviews in Spanish and English.

 

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