Pioneering Elk Grove Blog Bids Adieu

Eyes of Argus had significant impact on last years’ defeat of Leary


A pioneering Elk Grove blog and its succeeding web site officially said good bye yesterday after five years of operation.

The Eyes of Argus (EOA) blog operated by Jason Daniel’s came to being about five years ago in the midst of a scathing Sacramento County Grand Jury report on conflict of interest for Elk Grove council member Jim Cooper and former member Mike Leary. EOA initially blogged about the unsuccessful bid to recall the duo.

EOA had a take-no-prisoners persona when it came to Cooper and Leary, and over time, several other regional political figures. EOA became widely popular and a must-see site for regional political junkies. EOA was regularly cited in other media and seemingly scooped mainstream media outlets.

Based on the success of EOA, last summer Daniel’s launched CapitalElector.com. This site focused on Sacramento and regional politics. Shortly thereafter the focus became larger as it sought to cover state capital politics.

In today’s e-mail, Daniel’s said that he and an investment partner decided to end the Capital Elector on good terms. Daniel’s also said that he could no longer commit the time and energy to his news operation and noted the tough environment in which he operated.


To this end, Daniel’s noted the following in his e-mail:

“ I have also sensed the coming end in the demand for the personal non-corporately controlled blog. I feel the extinction of the personal blog is near as the MSM [main-stream-media] has officially caught up. Branded blogs are now the norm. people are soon going to be reading online sources controlled by corporate interests before the online source controlled by one person out of their home office.”

We are sorry to see EOA and CE ride off into the sunset. Nonetheless, we are thankful for Jason and his numerous contributions and his help (along with several other key people) in laying the foundation that led to the defeat of Mike Leary in 2008.

Au revoir!