West to discuss book, conduct R.I. straw poll at Brown Bookstore Oct. 30

As part of its celebration of a new book by Darrell West, the Brown Bookstore will conduct a straw poll for the R.I. governor and attorney general races. The public can cast votes at the bookstore on Friday, Oct. 30, from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. The results will be announced following a 7 p.m. talk by the author.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Three days before the election, the public will be able to cast an informal vote in the Rhode Island governor and attorney general races at the Brown Bookstore. The straw poll is part of a day-long event celebrating publication of The Sound of Money: How Political Interests Get What They Want, a new book by Darrell M. West, professor of political science at Brown. West collaborated on the book with Burdett A. Loomis, professor of political science at the University of Kansas.

The public can cast votes at the bookstore, 244 Thayer St., on Friday, Oct. 30, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The results will be announced following a 7 p.m. talk by West. West will also sign copies of the book following his talk.

>Published earlier this month, The Sound of Money examines how special-interest spending on communication campaigns shapes public policy. It focuses on four policy debates in this decade: the Clinton health care proposal, the Contract with America, telecommunications deregulation and Medicare reform.

West is a frequent commentator on media, voting behavior, and elections. A faculty member at Brown University since 1982, he has conducted numerous polls and extensively studied the factors that influence public opinion.

His most recent official poll, Sept. 19-20, 1998, calculated public opinion on the Rhode Island races for governor and attorney general. Those results can be found on the Internet at http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/1998-99/98-018.html.