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Selling Open Source on the Campaign Trail
Waldo Jaquith writes: "I'm a long-time advocate and user of open source and free software and, as of this morning, I am a candidate for the Charlottesville, VA (USA) City Council. Naturally, I see lots of areas in Charlottesville's IT infrastructure (as well as potential areas of expansion) where Linux and various free software projects would be ideal. But can I make that a talking point while campaigning? How do I make that concept accessible and interesting to 40,000 citizens?"
No one (the general public)'s interested in it. If someone asks you about your views on Open Source, then answer it truthfully, sure, but don't make it a campaign point to stand on. That's just foolish.
Tell 'em its cheap.
Say the words "hard earn tax dollars"
and be prepared to be called a dirty red commie.
You can't take the sky from me...
They're not going to be interested in what the software can do for them. They will be interested in fact that a significant amount of money will be freed in the budget. Don't go promising tax refunds or anything, but I think the financial benefit will be the most tangible to non-technical folk.
What do voters care about? Taxes. It's that simple. So, you want to get elected, voters want lower taxes. How do you react to this situation? Find a way to lower, or at least not increase, taxes. Open source solutions are free. Maintenance of such systems, contrary to what M$ heads would have you believe, is about the same cost, maybe even less (because once it's running, it JUST WORKS.) Now, let's follow along to make a logical conclusion:
You want to be on the council.
The voters don't want to pay as much tax.
You want to use something that's free for IT purposes.
Tell the voters that using free software would reduce costs!
The voters will automatically imply that your action of reducing costs will lead to lowered taxes and BAM!! you're elected.
Good luck!
~ now you know
Make it a budget issue - Open Source will
save the city X million dollars.
Make it a fear issue - the city is liable to BSA extortion lawsuits as long as Microsoft products are in use and accessible to unauthorized copying.
If you invoke the possibility that Microsoft and the BSA might steal their hard-earned tax dollars, that will probably get their attention...
"It take 9 months to bear a child, no matter how many women you assign to the job."
Like any politicians EVER do what they say on campaign
Now, I liked George H.W. Bush but.. 'Read my lips.. no new taxes".. exactly
Don't Tread on Me
I imagine you'd have a hard sell anywhere if you were trying to put your emphasis on the freedom of choice/speach side of Linux/OSS use in government. Tell the people you're trying to save them money, to use their tax dollars wisely, and that you feel by not spending recurring large amounts of money on software licenses (as one of a many pronged approach) you can do that. Hopefully they'll see that you're trying to use the hard earned money they gave you to use as best and efficiently as possible.
Hopefully.
Ad in classifieds: Pandora's Box (no box) $5
And you won't get elected if you try to pound home the concept of Open Source software.
The costs are not as negligible as you may think. The switching costs alone would be enough to invalidate any budget item that you'd propose.
You'd be ineffectual as a first-timer and likely would get voted out in the next round.
Pick a real issue that affects your district and campaign on that. Sneak in Open Source whenever you can, but don't think that it is as important to your constituents as it is to you.
be careful! don't promise a rose garden, thats all!
Okay, for real:
- tell people how much money you save
- you'll have to proove that OS software really won't have a negative impact on services and IT progress of your city
Basically, everything has to be on the upside versus propriatary software. If you can tie it in to huge $$$ saving by the city, thats a language every voter can talk.
"Old man yells at systemd"
The only way I can see to make open source a valid point in an election is the issue of cost. If you can show that the city/state/district will save money and either reduce taxes or put more money towards, say, the schools, people might care. Otherwise, bringing it up will probably cause people to either ignore you, or decide you're a nerd and vote against you.
Basically, the thing to remember is that most people who've even heard of linux have had it pitched by rabid fans, who make themselves more enemies than converts. If you're trying to convince these folks that linux/open source is worthwhile, you're going to have a hard time.
And good luck in your run!
As a citizen, do you think I want to know what brand asphalt you're going to use to fill the potholes? No, I just want to get it done. Details like that are for you and your staff to work out.
Be reasonable and willing to compromise. Other people will sometimes need to have their way, even if it is wrong. Remember, while often times most palatable, open source is not always the best solution (no flames please!).
Try not to be an open source zealot....most people won't understand, and, if and when something goes to hell, your "free" software will be blamed. CYA!!!
I suspect that talking about "open source" won't
mean a lot to your constituency. However, you can
say that you have ideas about how to streamline
governmental IT budgets without cutting services.
A more subtle point is that open source improves
openness. Using open file formats and protocols
protects the government and the public from vendor
lock-in. It also improves the chance that government archives will still be accessible in
the middling and distant future. I don't know
how you can make these points sound-bite-friendly,
but it's worth thinking about.
Ben "You have your mind on computers, it seems."
um,
He's running for city council, not Congress.
and his website is conspicuously missing.
hmmm...
"Tension is the great integrity" -- R. Buckminster Fuller
The trick that you would need to do is to make sure you wrap a lot of the OS rheteroric in a way that doesn't sound communist or anti-capitalist.
As soon as your opponent would say: " wants to give away all software, and that will cost jobs, especially in this industry where people are being laid off now" then you are sunk with the 40,000 people who don't know the industry.
Another thing you will realize, is that, on the whole, people don't care about the same things that get discussed on here. They just don't. Perhaps they should, but that doesn't make it happen. So again, I wish you luck.
Why don't you stop ticketing people in Charlottesville for everything first. Like leaving your trash can out too early or too late.
The average citizen probably hasn't given any thought to municipal IT, nor will they. That's why city council and city bureucracies exist. They have given a lot of thought to their taxes and how they are spent. Tell them that you will be saving the city money making their tax dollars go further, and upgrading the infrastructure at the same time. People like saving money, and it'll make you look like a man of ideas. It's not like your opponent can oppose the idea.
What you do with the saved money is another issue.
Honestly, do you really think enough people are going to care that you want to use open source software that you're gonna get elected?
No.
Add the fact that stuff like the local school district software, DMV, and all other government offices that people go to regularly have their IT infrastructure decided at the state or federal level, and you have an absolutely pointless campaign platform.
People don't give a shit about issues like that in city council races - they care about zoning and noise ordinances. For christ's sake, why would you even be considering running with open source as a political platform???? If there was an political viability in it, don't you think some bigger political fish that a Charlotte City Council hopeful would have already had success with that angle?
if you do decide to make this part of your platform, why not talk about it from the standpoint of it benefiting the local economy? reduced expenditures due to saving on both software licensing and hardware upgrades means less taxpayer money spent on infrastructure. it could also level the playing field between large software companies and local consulting firms, encouraging more technology money to be spent locally instead of funelled outside the City's economy. finally, by investing in open solutions the government retains control over its information systems and will not be at the whim or mercy of a corporation who owns the intellectual property rights to and controls the future of those technologies.
just a thought.
Sounds to me like this guy just wanted some exposure, and he used the gullableness of the /. editors to accomplish this.
Same story, different news outlet.
works everytime...
Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars.
Don't get any where near "Linux," just keep it to "advanced technology solutions."
Yes, it sounds cheasy, but the people aren't going to want to hear about Linux ("What's that?"), they'll want to know you're looking out for their interests in the most efficient manner possible.
I don't think you can make the general voting populace care about open source as a campaign issue. It will just distract from your other (I hope) sound campaign stances.
OTOH, campaigns aren't won by getting all the votes, just by getting enough. Elections can be decided by a slim margin. Will 400 more votes make the difference for you? Maybe.
You can talk about open source to the right people; LUGs, CS students at local schools, IT/tech workers, etc. Target your open source msg to these folks and bring in non-voters or sway fence-sitters in these groups.
Once you win, push open source solutions to save money. Tax payers love saving money on gov't budgets. You can then use this goodwill/political capital to get things done and/or continue to serve in gov't.
Sig?
Sigue Sigue Sputnik!!!
a) A large percentage of consistent voters are the elderly who would be totally lost when you started talking about this. "Open Source? I'll show you some open sores."
b) Most people who would be knowledgable (primarily young men) would be too busy playing {Enter Latest Game Here} to remember to vote.
c) If you already have systems up and running and existing licenses then the savings would be more long term than short term. This is always bad since people have a short - what the hell was I saying?
Sell them on the cost.
After all, if the city government doesn't have to pay up fees, buy (most) software, worry about viri, and the other day to day details of IT software cost, then the money spent on that can go else where, say providing a few people to do support and development for the custom apps that the city will want.
III.IIVIVIXIIVIVIIIVVIIIIXVIIIXIIIIIIIIVIIIIVVIII
Some general directions to try:
Those are just off the top of my head. I agree with other posters that not too many people are concerned with open source directly, but as a symbol of democracy, free market capitalism, and innovation, it might help you make some points.
I doubt that installing Linux on the city's computers would make the top 10 (or 20 or 30) list of any of your potential constituents. Voters usually vote because they're concerned about issues that impact them. (That could be directly, as in taxes or hazardous waste, or emotionally, as in caring for the children or the poor.)
So, for instance, you could present installation of Linux as one means of reducing the cost of a bloated city government budget. (Assuming, that is, that the city govt's budget *is* bloated and that C'ville's citizens are concerned about it.) You'll probably find it more difficult to link to feeding the hungry or cleaning toxic wastes, except that it might free money for those needs.
At best, OS should be a tactic that a politician can mention as a means to an end.
Fundamentally, you need to be pushing a solution to a problem people care about. Or you need to provide a better way of doing things, that is worth the hassle of accepting. Change for change's sake is scary to voters. And if you're trying to push Linux just because it's l33t and r00lz, then quit now; you're just wasting people's time.
If you can demonstrate that using Linux will...
- Reduce computer costs and free up more money for education...
- Make it easier for kids to get computers, to play and learn with (and so develop future job skills)...
- Have a proven track record of being more secure against attackers...
- Will enable computers and related services to more available, more quickly to e.g. rural areas than otherwise...
...then you've got something you can sell to non computer-geek voters.
You need to simply identify how using OSS well improve your would-be constituents' lives.
ShoutingMan.com
I don't know how accesable "open-source" stuff is to "the people" but you can't ignore the University of Virginia - located right in Charlottesville! Now, clearly not all the students there are registered voters in charlottesville but I'd guess about 1/3 of them are (maybe more since UVA is 60% in state students) - and for these students I bet open source is not only an idea accesable to them, but an issue otherwise jaded and synical students would be willing to get of thier buts and vote on. Also I am sure a fair number of the professors and staff would be interested in this to - so it is an issue you can definantely bring up when campaigning on the UVA campus! Good luck!
Depends what the potential savings are to your constituents. If you can present open source software in concrete terms as in "Ditching Microsoft will pay for one more school per year in our city" then perhaps people will listen.
Otherwise you'll have exactly one extra vote, from RMS.
Something like this will most likely end up costing more in the end.
This might seem pretty obvious, but if you're trolling /. for name recognition in the geek community, you might at least pay lip service to the plank in your platform. If Open Source ranks behind the marketing terms "sustainable growth, protection of our environment, improving quality of life, building a stronger school/community relationship and improving the economic status of all city residents" and is just tossed in "among other things", why bother to bring it up?
If, on the other hand, it is something you care about, your constituency is probably down the road in Blacksburg.
This is opposed to corporations that write software that's just barely good enough to sell copies and make money. Once you've paid them, whether it works or not is of no importance anymore.
With open source, quality of software wins over the ignorant boss's/management's priorities every time.
Play up the savings in software acquisition costs and the savings due to the use of recycled hardware (since you won't have to upgrade anymore). Minimal mention of retraining and support costs. Do not go into great detail on the Open Source movement, since most voters will not care and many business involved in selling software service to the city will become alarmed.
Make it look like the taxpayer is getting something for free here. Damn all your opponents to hell for overspending on software and hardware when the solution has been under their noses for several years now.
Good luck.
To celebrate the occasion of my 1000th post, I will post no more forever on Slashdot. Goodbye.
How do I make that concept accessible and interesting to 40,000 citizens?"
To make it accessable to 40 thou. people you just have to explain what slashdot posters continually write....show the cost effectiveness, productivity and the avaliability. Dont Make this a major leg of your platform though. To make this concept accessable is one thing, making it interesting to 40,000 citizens? is another...one that is probabily not easily done. Still, letting everyone know that you have a leaning to Open Source is not a bad thing as long as you explain those advantages that everyone is always talking about.
Just don't let it stand in the way of other duties. Your job is to let the people make decisions for themselves, remember. You should just inform them of the facts and hope that the citizens will see things your way. Good luck.
You'd be better off discussing C-ville's bizarre road & traffic policies. But I digress...
Seriously, maybe you could focus on the cost saving aspects? I'm not sure what the city's financials are like at the moment (as I no longer live in the area), but saving tax money always sounds good if you spin it right.
...but, I think Linux is really neat. I don't have a real reason for wanting to make everyone use it, but if you'd come up with one, I'm sure I'd make use of it as if it were my own idea.
End sarcasm.
It irritates me how blatantly artificial this guy is being. Linux can save money. Linux can cost money: put it on all the machines in the public libraries, then pay to train the librarians. And watch the librarians workloads increase as they have to help every Joe Sixpack that comes in to check his e-mail.
If you've got something you're trying to put through, stand behind that. But don't get Slashdot all riled up because you haven't come up with anything. "I hear those geeks over there get all excited if you start shouting stuff about Linux. What's a Linux?"
Feh.
Must be worth a couple of votes.
Find out HOW MANY BUCKS are paid to M$ each year, and campaign on the absis that you could save all of it. Well its plausible, and no one expects a politician to be totally honest. Most of the voters (and probably all of your fellow candidates) will expect you to put half the savings in your own back pocket.
Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
- reduced cost of licencing
- reduced cost of licence compliance
- reduced cost of dealing with security
- reduced waste in government offices (open software tends to have less feature-creep, which means less time doing stuff that shouldn't be done at all (like writing your memos in three columns).
Issues of freedom come second. The problem is they are more abstract, difficult to grasp, and non-local. And you are not running for President so your voters might not care about your opinions about copyright and copyleft.Of course if you were running in Berkeley, things might be different ;-) but you aren't.
-- look, cheese ahoy!
If I were your opponent and you started talking about Open Source, I would label you as an "out of touch techno-geek". I would win.
Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
Sorry, but it sounds like you are an intelligent and fairly technically competant person. You would never fit in with the other politicians.
Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes. --E. W. Dijkstra
Would you vote for a landscaper whose campaign speeches were treatises on the merits of hardwood mulch over pine bark mulch? Or an auto mechanic who promised to improve the performance of the city's vehicle fleet by switching to synthetic motor oil?
I know I wouldn't.
If you're running for city council, stick to the top issues in municipal government: schools, taxes, crime, etc.
At most you might say something like "as information technology becomes increasingly important to the successful managment of any business or government, our city council would benefit by having a member who understands how to apply IT tools to improve the function of city government." But leave it at that.
OSS is totally non-interesting to the average Mr. Doe who is a blue collar worker during daytime and just grabs his beer when he gets home at night.
While you can very well use free software to reduce money spent on arbitrary licensing fees of proprietary software, I would not count on 'going in, installing Linux/FreeBSD/whatever/ and everything's just working'. A great idea to have your secretary use kde, but remember that she might need a little teaching to use the new system, which costs money and time and...
mm!
&& aemula C. ab stirpe interiit
City goverments require some of these applications:
Custom applications for revenue applications (parking tickets, registration, property taxes).
GIS systems for mapping / analysis. (ArcView in Charlottesville's case).
Web content-management (custom in Charlottesville's case).
Many more...
What open source solutions are you recommending, and what specific benefits whould they provide? What costs would be involved in this transition?
There is definitely a lot more than email and web service involved here.
If you are trying to explain why you feel that Linux would be a good choice, make your biggest emphasis on points that the average joe cares about. Any Joe Voter can understand cost savings and increased security. With the current economic slump and the recent publicity about holes in Microsofts brand new "secure" operating system, along with the ongoing reports of problems with previous versions, these would be good points to highlight. These are things that people will feel they have enough knowledge to make judgements on.
So, If I were you I'd emphasize the aspects of saving money and protecting private data. But I'd not overdue it. While these could be good points to make on the campaign trail, I'd not make them your biggest emphasis. While people may appreciate what you have to say, I don't believe many people will find this all that important. Perhaps they should, but I doubt it. Taxes, Crime reduction, Drug tasks forces, etc are usually bigger on voters priority lists.
Make the point of "Why are we spending large amounts of money on licenses and opening outselves to spending even more defending ourselves against charges that we haven't bought enough, when there's software available that does the job and which doesn't require a license per seat?". Point out the state and municipal governments that've gotten audited by companies like Microsoft and had to spend large amounts of the taxpayer's money to prove they really did have all the licenses they needed. Ask whether this is really a prudent way to spend tax money, when there's an alternative available.
I'm not sure that the general public necessarily cares what product their government's IT is using. I'd say be general in your campaign to reduce city expeditures until prompted for details. You may want to hilight that Open Source/Linux is cheaper to install, cheaper to keep up-to-date, and has been proven to be much more secure than certain other proprietary OS-es. Especially in light of recent virii and hacker (terrorists according to GWB) scares, Linux's track record of security might be very appealing to your voters.
Furthermore, you can explain briefly how with the source code available, special changes to the software for specific needs can be done by any programmer and the city won't have to buy $100K of custom software -- $100K will easily get you a couple full-time programmers in Charlottesville for a year.
Just remember, voters don't want things complex, and TV and papers will almost never let you discuss anything in detail, so it's got to be something simple and quick. "If we change to Linux, our base costs will be less and our long term costs will save the city X dollars over Y years." "Remember Virginia Beach and the Microsoft audit! One hundred twenty-nine THOUSAND dollars for software the city already bought!!!" You get the idea, otherwise, give up politics. (:
woof.
well, if elected, you'll have to start with your cohorts and their support staff.
then you'll have to filter it down to the people who actually work, and ensure that the people who buy your stuff are on the right page. Since you won't be the mayor or manager, this could be a hard one to pull off.
And, you know the usual procedure for governments and budgets. You are not rewarded for not spending money in your budget on next year's budget, you are penalized. Doing this at the end of the fiscal year would be BAD. You probably won't recoup the $$$ you saved on your next budget.
How do I make that concept accessible and interesting to 40,000 citizens?
Use puppets. MAke one of them act mean, make the other one act kind, and make sure that the kind one explains the moral at the end.
Barring that, most voters won't pay attention.
Say something like "Although I recognize that the American Dream has always been that somebody can take an idea and roll it into a million dollar business, I also believe that ONE SPECIFIC million dollar business is EVIL(tm) and therefore, suggest that we run this city using free software written in the free time of college students, and by philosophers who tend to wear brown robes." That should get the underlying ideas across. And after all, your opponent will only be talking about, you know, taxes, crime prevention, improving public works, The Safety Of The Children(tm) and other such inconsequentials. Sticking It To Microsoft!(tm) is MUCH more important to them all.
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
How do I make that concept accessible and interesting to 40,000 citizens?"
You can't.
Be vague. Find out how much the city spent on open-source server software, figure out how much they can save, then write in your campaign literature: "An IT professional, recently did an analysis of the city's computer infrastructure, and found that it was wasting . As a member of the council, will be able to help eliminate this kind of wasteful spending." For small municipal elections, you can usually win by drowning out the other candidates with enough colorful, interesting ads.
I wouldn't try to replace all the workstation software; it would just be too costly and inefficient in the end.
While everyone is pointing out the savings - make sure the money you save on free licenses isn't lost in the transition cost. This includes installation and retraining of users. Also may require hiring a new (possibly expensive) *nix admin if you are replacing Microsoft products.
Just because it is free doesn't mean it doesn't cost anything to use!
Don't know - Slashdot effect in effect. ;)
Seriously, I'd be careful, if I were you.
There may be certain legal repercussions. As well, are you campaigning for councillor or the city's IT Manager position?
Talk about taking all expendatures to task with the various Department heads. Then use Open Source Software as an example of how to save money long term - that would buy you more credibility. Stay away if you can from subjects that contain "Corporate Control" and "Legal Issues" - they tend to glaze the eyes of John Q. Public.
Remember, this isn't a Slashdot poll.
Soko
"Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
Is Waldo your legal name, or will you be appearing on the ballots as "David?" :)
In all seriousness, and in answer to your question: take the example of Virginia Beach. At Microsoft's whim, VA Beach had to direct significant resources to a proprietary software audit, then follow it up by writing a fat check for all the Certificates of Authenticity they couldn't find. No one wants Charlottesville burdened with that sort of goofiness. VA Beach is close enough to Charlottesville that that story may actually strike a chord with your voting public.
You could point out that Thomas Jefferson, were he alive today, would probably use, and maybe even contribute to, one of the major open source OSes.
Saving money is always good. Point out what it costs to run dozens of servers and hundreds of computers with Windows XP, vs. Linux. Everyone wants smaller, cheaper government.
But, honestly, this isn't the sort of issue on which people get elected, even to city council. Worse, IT isn't really the business of council members -- it's the business of the staff in City Hall. If you want to change their IT infrastructure, get hired as staff. IT isn't a political issue. Making IT a political issue may get you a few geek votes, and it's certain to get you in the C'ville Weekly a few more times, but I can't imagine it alone getting you elected.
Signed,
--Random Charlottesvillian
Offer them tax breaks... if less money to spent on municiple spending, specifically on computer systems, that means more money can be spent on other things like the little league, the police... and even lower taxes.
In addition to saving money, you avoid the BSA (Microsoft gestapo). In Charlottsville, you also have a large pool of available software consultants from UVA who can help, saving more money.
Also, this is the right time for this: the alternative is to convert to XP soon, and a LOT of businesses an orginazations are worried about
the XP licensing model.
Up here in NYC, we're hearing *a lot* about accountability. Tell your potential constituents that it is time for the government to be held accountable. How can it be accountable when it relies on other institutions to provide its services? How can it be accountable when its very records may become unavailable in the future because the company that created the software/protocol/files has gone under?
Moreover, accountability means a government should be run like a business and any business has to find ways to cut costs. Using open source software cuts costs. Only, if you're going into government, don't call it open source -- call it "publicly developed".
Good luck!
I have to me-too the other posts: you're saving taxpayers' money. Bashing Microsoft may be fun (and many of your constituents may agree with you) but it doesn't mean anything if there isn't real savings and/or improved productivity.
You may also be benefiting the community by opening the source of work done for the city; custom work is done for cities' web tools, etc., and this could be useful to your constituents as well as other municipal webmasters (for example).
I must say, though, that I bet this is not your constituents' highest priority. Here in SF, CA it's the usual suspects: the economy, jobs, homeless, crime, transportation, housing, etc., etc. The OS used in city government is not on the radar of even one percent of voters, I guarantee it. So make sure you have other issues you're running on as well!
sulli
RTFJ.
I've worked on this issue a bit with local government and will agree with most of the recent posters, that this is a non-issue for most of the electorate (which is only a group of special interests looking to push their own specific agendas).
However, the trick with government agencies (all but the military), is that they have very little money and very large needs. We tried to help out by interconnecting local government agencies and schools at cost (to us) but it was still too much of a burden for them. They just did not have the technical skills necessary to keep things running or more importantly, to identify issues.
I think that you will find the issues to be about the same as they are within a large company.
*Give me everything.
*Don't expect me to pay for it.
*Give it to me now.
*Make it work, so that I don't need to think.
Solve the problems the same way that you would for a large company.
*Build a knowledgeable and dedicated staff. (easier to do now that everyone is unemployed
*Start with projects that give you good metrics (i.e. help desk).
*Use the above metrics to pick the right solution and split apart the special interests.
Good Luck!
1. The electorate doesn't know nor could care less about what open source is vs. Microsoft. Further, it's likely to go over their heads. Remember these folks buy their computers from the Home Shopping Club or their local Staples supply store. Operating systems and terminiology won't win votes. You will need to get the term 'open source' out there, but make it simple so people understand its meaning. Come up with a real-world analogy to better describe it.
2. What will win votes are the economics of open source. How much money in property taxes are these people paying to support an inefficient IT infrastructure? How many millions are being wasted by software licenses that are not necessary?
3. Know that a city council MACRO manages and does not micromanage. Communicate that knowledge to the electorate. Also know that you will have very little power as a single voice on the council (not to mention you'll be a freshman member). Hopefully your political party will be in control of things so you won't be a complete lame duck. Because the council manages in the macro sense (it steers vs. rows) you have no authority to fire the current IT manager. In other words, your political future rides on this man or woman. Set up a meeting, be nice, and most importantly sell your plan to him (or her) before the election heats up.
4. Understand the bureaucratic environment. Government is based on the basic idea that money needs to be spent and not saved. Public managers work hard at the end of the fiscal year to not leave much on the books in order to prevent losing their funding the next year. So know that there will no support among the city managers to go after cost saving alternatives. The public will have to demand they investigate such avenues.
6. Run an effective grass roots campaign using your IT skills as a foundation. Get the voter registration list from your registrar in disk format. Put it into a mysql database with voter history (priming data). Take your message door-to-door effectively, and track individual voters so you know who to call on election day. Only visit people who vote! You have a leg up on your competition due to your ability to effectively manager voter contacts.
Most of all: BE YOURSELF.
www.lonseidman.com
Tell people you're all for sending spammers to hell. I'd vote for you.
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
Several people have written articles on how MS and others are moving to a pure leasing arangement. At some point you will be paying monthly and if you stop paying, you will be unable to access your data. Add in DMCA nightmares of reverse engineering prevention, and the future is very bleak. Plus, how can you trust a convicted monopolist?
And have They been to your city yet. Use it to your advantage. Use examples of other successful places. Between a lower budget, better reliability, and no fears of data lockup, it would make a good plank in your platform, but you will need other things to make a stand on. Lastly, be prepared for some mud slinging. Probalby they will paint OSS as commie or some other Non-American thing. Explain it as being Christian (give unto poor) and use other metaphors to make the populace think of Free software writers as good charitable folks. Might want to avoid outright speaking of it as Christian, but as a politician, you should know how to turn a phrase to put an idea in the populace's mind.
Just a Tuna in the Sea of Life
No one cares. Let me say that one more time: No one cares. And again, but louder: NO ONE CARES ABOUT OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE.
If you make it a campaign focus, you will lose, simple as that.
If you care about this issue, then fine, but learn the first rule of politics: you have to get elected. That means figure out what your constituents care about, and propose solutions to THOSE problems.
If you get elected, then you can try and push OSS software if you want and think it's important. But don't fool yourself into thinking that this issue is important to the average person.
And one last: Never fool yourself into thinking that it SHOULD be important to the average person, because it just isn't compared to other problems.
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
Before you figure out how to sell your public on open software, you need to figure out for yourself if this is even going to be a part of your job.
You state you are running for a council member position. Any "council" has more than one member. Will you be the council member in charge of IT? Do others on council know anything about software? Does your city council even involve itself in decisions about specific software? Are you sure your city doesn't have an IT manager that takes care of that sort of thing?
And even if it is part of your job, I hate to burst your bubble but other people here are right...John Q. Citizen doesn't give a rat's ass what software you use, especially in our post-Sept 11th world. He doesn't care if Microsoft is a monopoly. He doesn't give a damn about closed file formats. All he cares about are his taxes don't go up, he has electricity, water, and other utilities coming to his house, and criminals aren't breaking in to his house.
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
Other issues like property tax, school funding, public works and libraries mean heck of alot more than just open source. That doesn't stop you from artfully inserting open source values into your explanations and approach to civic policy. You want to come across as some one highly qualified who happens to understand open source vs an open source advocate running for city council.
As a general rule, it drives me nuts when politicians make a big pie-in-the-sky speech and fail to back up their promises with a specific plan, or to make that plan accessible to the general public.
To that end, if you've got real identifiable places where IT could be streamlined with open source products, develop a plan. Make it accessible (both in the physical sense -- it's on a website, and the site has a name I'll remember) and in the mental sense. Even if regular folk could access all 7000 pages of this year's tax bill, no one would understand it -- it's not mentally accessible to us. Finally, bullet-ize the major benefits your consituency will get out of open source, and remember your audience -- focus on direct and immediate benefits of open source (reduce taxes? make more government services available? get out from under Redmond's thumb? -- you should know your consituency, you know what'll resonate with them).
By the time you hit the campaign trail, your message should be "I'm going to reform our local government's IT with open source software. Your benefits from this reform will be x, y, and z. Find out more about my plan at votewaldo.org." Then, make the information you present on the website detailed and specific, but accessible to the average voter.
If it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet.
You're asking Slashdot? Ah-hahahahaha, man you're so screwed..
Come on down the road a bit to Roanoke, we're cheap down here, and it would probably be an easy sell.
"This will cost you less money." Cover ears to cushion the blow of deafening silence from the crowd as they contemplate the idea of a politician SAVING them money.....
Sigs are for squares. Like pants!
Of a penguin.... on your butt... then "accidently" get lose your swim trunks or such and have a news photographer close (Or one of several variations of this!) Or have her with you!
*narf!*
Keep your target voter in mind on this one. If you have a large segment of IT professionals in your district then it's okay to get geeky about the whole IT issue. However, if you are looking at a largely-technophobic constituency you might run into the "if it's open-source then it's insecure" mentality, and no matter how many times you explain it you aren't going to sink in with some of them.
A possible strategy would be "The county is currently running a computer system that jeopardizes the security and reliability of the IT infrastructure in our county offices, and I have proven solutions that could dramatically correct these issues and at the same time save taxpayers thousands of dollars a year in unnecessary IT purchases".
Bring to their attention insecurity of data and inefficiency of spending, and then tell them how you are going to fix it.
Marketing-wise this may noy be a 'wise thing'.
Sure, the costs savings will be tremendous, but what you propose may not be percieved as 'safe' with the public. Sure, it's free, but what's the catch? Is the government to find out? People will bash you that there is no-one responsible(legally) after a crash causes severe data loss.
Don't click here. BT will enforce intellectual rights and sue for eac
"How do I make that concept accessible and interesting to 40,000 citizens?"
It's so easy! Dress up in a fuzzy penguin suit and hand out debian cds to everyone you see. Most of them won't know what to do with the cds, but you'll save a few souls I'm sure. For the rest of them... well, hey, you're wearing a cute, fuzzy, penguin suit. And that's something everyone will find both interesting and accessible. I mean, how many politicians walk around in penguin suits? None. You'd be the talk of the town. Hell, the nation. Maybe even the world.
you're such a cutie, you'll get elected no matter what you pitch.
Stress free as in beer, not speech. Joe tax-payer will understand that.
I like lots of people. That doesn't mean I go carting them around the galaxy with me. --Dr. Who
e-government.
OK, that is one word. Check out www.ezgov.com. They use open source solutions only and have experts who can recommend ways to start saving the taxpayers money immediately.
Wow that's an interesting and provocative question. Sadly I don't have the time tight now to give you a proper answer, when I get back home I will expand some thoughts that now I lay down.
;-))
First, obvious to someone who's going to vote, you have how much money the city or the governament scope will save. Then after you PROVE and you do your little MARKETING (hey that's politics) of how you are going to save money, say that this money is going to be used for:
1) Buy schools new computer, hire people to teach computer classes to children (education issues)
2) Build a network among schools, fireman, police, hospital, etc... (health, security, future issues)
3) Found user groups so people can help people (community issues)
Okay, that's enough, my boss is calling me. Anyway, you must find a balance between what people traditionally want from politicians (all the good and the ugly of it) and how using open source will satisfy these needs.
Money is the first thing someone would think, but you also have Microsoft that may OR may not crumble (even if just a little) with the trials.
Say to people: "Hey, let's not buy software from a company that been accused of doing Bad Things to us. Choose an alternative! Vote for me, bla bla bla".
Politicians do this all the time (playing with what MIGHT happen and exagerating the facts or assumptions).
I don't know how your personality is, if you can play this political game or not. Anyway, you will have to.. and once you start (I don't know your past) you will have to make these little concessions.
Draw on papers what people want and what Open Source can give you. Than separate these two piles of paper and in between go filling the table with the arguments that you will use, topics that you will choose. If you can make a lot, and good, connections, maybe it will work. Just remember to judge stuff from the point of view from someone who's going to vote for you.
Last, go to schools, universities, user groups, star trek meetings around your area and get as many as geeks as is possible to, of course, vote for you and give you more ideas. (think globally, act locally
Buy a Nintendo DS Lite
I guess if one could work out the TCO of using non-open source products, you could make a case for it. Everyone understands what it means to save money, and despite what some people think, the benefits of running, say, a ubiquitous proprietary OS do not justify the returns. I think this is a case that can be easily made.
However, I think large-scale deployments of open-source software only make sense if a migration has to take place anyway. No point in this if city council has already paid the money to MS to upgrade to Windows 2000 or Office 2000. Then, you have to wait to the next end if upgrade cycle.
The best reason to give why Linux should be considered is that it removes your government's implicit support to a convicted criminal enterprise. By using (and continuing to use) Microsoft Products (including their lack-of-support options), you are supporting them and their "business model".
Of course, there is the cost issue. Let's see, $79.95 for a single copy of RedHat 7.1 or $44.95 for a single copy of Slackware. Opposed to $199.95 for a single copy of XP. Hmmmm. A more in depth cost analysis can be seen at my web site.
Ron Gage - Westland, MI
C'mon. I'm a technologist who had a brief stint with the government. I for one know that it simply can't do anything right, especially without a major new financial commitment (triple what the actual cost should be). It was more than a little disheartening to see much cash flow freely from the politician's budgets flow straight down the drain. Before you embark on this journey, imagine all the diverse systems currentl running (or limping along) on mainframe, Apple, Unix, Linux, Sun and MS platforms. Taxpayers would NOT be pleased if all the money they spent in the last decade were just tossed in an attempt to "upgrade". So do you think you're going to be able to get them all to speak to your freeware? Even if they can, imagine the technical expertise it would require to implement such interconnectivity (a holy grail). You think the folks who can do this, and have a decent track record of having done it, will take a government salary for long? Not likely.
I'm a Charlottesville resident, as well as a member of C-ville's tech crowd (tightly-knit bunch that we are) so I don't think you'll have any problem finding local advocates to back you (or help with implementations.)
To the rest of our community (the non-techies) I'd cite the licensing trouble several local governments have had with Microsoft, and some of the BSA actions. That should be enough to convince them that if they're going to use non-free software, they're going to not only pay for the licenses, but also for the license audits. That should help bottom-line-oriented people understand the benefits of free software.
I should also add that I think it would be highly inappropriate for any governmental body to publish any document in a proprietary format (Read RMS's editorial on that). If all of the desktops in the city offices used only free software I think the odds of that happening are slim.
Actually, what I'd really like to see the city do is own the "last mile" of telecom wiring...
throw a little paranoia in there by bringing up MS's exposing our nation to attack over the internet because of their lousy software. Putting all eggs in one basket is bad policy. Look at Enron investors
I think in the long run, the freedom and openness and public domain ownage (them, the voters!) should be your points to stress, if you yell "My software will run governments cheaper!" NOONE will believe you.
/Dread
Education cost is short term hype nonsense, make it look 90% the same (and all distro do) and just about everyone will understand what to do. Humankind is amazingly adaptive, as shown by every new GUI re-invention from redmond that goes by w/o re-training all the workforce.
FREEDOM is a cost saver.
Gr
However, if you are looking at a largely-technophobic constituency you might run into the "if it's open-source then it's insecure" mentality, and no matter how many times you explain it you aren't going to sink in with some of them.
No, you're going to run into the "what does source mean in this context? and what makes it open? secure? secure from what?" mentality. I swear, from the way people here talk you'd think the entire population of the US read slashdot. The average voter/citizen has almost no interest in comparing an operating system that they don't understand with an operating system they've never heard of. A large percentage of them probably have never heard of the term "operating system". They still don't quite get the idea of e-mail, though they might be able to use it if it's set up for them. Linux isn't even a blip on their radar, and the idea of modifiable "source code" is totally beyond them. It has nothing to do with intelligence or education, it's simply that they just don't get involved in that sort of thing, and a campaign that used it as its main focus would probably fail.
If you looking for votes be sure to look up and make a visit to the local Linux Users Group, Perl Mongers Group, etc.
:) That should be worth a couple of precentage points.
Guaranteed votes if you express some sort of OSS advocacy. Maybe this only accounts for several hundred or thousands votes but they would be cheap votes in terms of amount of time spent.
You might even get some offers to help.
BTW since you are somewhat close to florida you might try to get your name on _top_ of the ballot
Say using microsoft is dangerous 'cause it leave the city vulnerable to black hat hackers, and terrorists!
... ok that might not work so well.
"They could steal your land from you by changing city records!!"
"Use Linux or the terroists win!"
Run off posters with pictures of Osama bin Laden next to Bill Gates. "If you were an international terroist what OS would you use?"
You could also make a stuffed penguine your running mate (yes I know you don't have running mates for such a position, but it's funny)
"Linux, an OS for the people, by the people" - of Finland... but leave that last part out.
"Linux, if it's good enough for the communists it's good enough for us!"
"Linux is developed by people living right here in our own city! Not some faceless corporation in Redmond Washington!"
If all else fails I agree.. hand pupets.
I would rather be ashes than dust!
One force that may work in your favor is home town pride. See if you can find any developers in your area, and find some way to brag about how you could be using software that was written "Right here in VA, and not in some Redmond office complex."
Get people on the self-reliance kick. Relate it to stories about early pioneers not relying on the support of the major cities, or to direct ancestors of people famous in the town.
Much of the Free Software advocacy kick is based on out-and-out pride. We try to push GNU, Linux and BSD into service not just because they're technically superior in many ways, but because we feel like it's made by Our People rather than some deranged Redmond focus group or snooty Cupertino aesthete. We can identify with the people who made it.
Remember that Red Hat is in North Carolina, too. I don't know how you folks feel about the triangle, but you may be able to work up some small regional pride there if you can't find any local developers.
--
I noticed
It's getting about time to leave everywhere
They will save $ dollars on their tax bill. That is all they want to know.
I look at M$ and I see the reformationist catholic church, sprawled across europe, selling indulgences (peeks into the source code), taking land (businesses), and raping choir boys (IT departments?) for the sport of it.
The classic view of transcendence of power, as fomented by the church was that power came from God, passed to the clergy, then to the king, and then to the people.
It took someone with stones, Louis the 14th., to step on the necks of the church, and proclaim himself above them...until that time, things were looking pretty damned corrupt. Brother Luther was a thesis wielding chap. Great stuff that Humanities. :-)
Anybody see a parallel here...
Anyway, when M$, the BSA, and their hired thugs take over any office, that office is losing money. ..imagine a city office, or offices, shutdown in order for some software developer to come in and perform a hologram-count, scan systems, and basically ensure compliance? It could take days. If I ran a city office, it would be the kind of nightmare that has me wearing weak-bladder protection, daily.
Why is there even a question about this issue?
Why should citizenry dump their tax dollars into a corporate interest when the government is there to serve the people, and not "one redmond way"?
Unless M$ generates revenue within that community, then all the money for licenses, upgrades, and office software are just one big sucking sound heading to the pacific northwest.
Oh, and if you're wondering if there's any real need for IT departments everywhere to question their base OS'en, there is. When you're business is FORCED to upgrade their software every year and maybe even more often, then things are out of control. Upgrades are becomming mandatory under M$, like buying a new car (or hundreds if you have a large business) every year. Every year you WILL pay for your licenses, and if there's a sharp decline be prepared for a visit from one of the local M$ bishops, who will frown, ask probing questions, and show up with the inquisition (Torquemada, anyone?) to torment you for not supporting their bleed-your-ass-white business model.
And for those who think this should be the status quo...you're slaves. Find freedom before it's too late.
Every new form of media has it's own Requirimento
I dunno about your town. But where I live, a city councillor has pretty much zero impact on the IT departments of the city. If you want to try to raise the issue of free software great, but how realistic is it to assume that they will switch? Hell, if all the ideas that politicians voiced were actually implemented the world would be a pretty fsked up place...
Heaven knows, we wouldn't want to have to be beholden to Micro$oft (or any OTHER corporate interest) to keep the government functioning.
I mean, any more than we already are.
On the back end, look for and implement Open Source alternatives to data archival, transmission, and processing. Find ways to do the same thing that you're doing now, except that YOU'VE got the keys to the file format, encryption, etc.
In front of the constituency, tell them that you're putting their data back into the hands of people they've elected. They've had their information stolen out from under them, and had to pay for the priviledge. And they'll keep on paying, tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.
Tell them you're creating jobs here at home for all those IT students who graduated just in time for the big crunch. Tell them you're keeping those jobs here instead of sending them off to Redmund. Tell them those locals who put so much time and effort into getting a CS degree will soon be hard at work building a strong data infrastructure for the community.
Tell them that culpability has returned to city hall, and is no longer waiting on hold with tech support.
Tell them that.
GMFTatsujin
What can emacs do that pico can't do?
there are the advantages that everyone talks about : low entry cost, better bang for the buck regarding required hardware for systems, no forced upgrade path, etc. etc. but i think there are bigger fish to catch with oss. vendors that deal with cities and states (federal too) seem to think eveyone working there are a bunch of dips (they can be) and they confuse issues and solutions with techno-speak and end up walking away with a sweet-ass contract for services that is almost bulletproof against a worthless system that may or may not work. here in portland, oregon our waterworks dept. wanted to change our their billing computer - it has cost 10's of millions and still counting and guess what?! it doesn't work - the city still has to be nice to the vendor (who are a bunch of idiots) to get something out of them that will get the city by until they get another new system in place. i believe similar situations exist in many other places (most state dmv depts. have had pisspoor track records trying to upgrade systems) also there was some paper done on the new york transit system pass cards or something where they paid 100's of millions and then were told later that it would cost even more just to move from mag cards to smart cards (what kind of fuckup doesn't think of that beforehand!!!!!????).
in a nutshell use the tax dollars to the maximum which means use oss - spend money to train internal people to understand and maintain the systems - outsource the really technical work and if a vendor starts leading you tell him to fuck off here's the lawsuit demanding our tax doolars back for NOT delivering and go find yourself another c programmer or perl or python or etc etc.
dont use my tax dollars to lock me into a closed - propriatry system where the vendor can just bend us over time and time again.
Hi there,
As one of the University's 12,000+ undergrads, I can assure you there is a vibrant community here that would help you out. Most of us don't vote locally (I'm from and registered in Georgia) but would gladly help out a local councilman who got Open Source and had good ideas. Also, campaign about getting rid of traffic through the middle of Grounds; I can't drive to the grocery store and back without getting stuck in a line of 30 cars on University or Emmet. =)
beware the jabberwock, my son! the jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
First check out http://www.dwheeler.com/oss_fs_why.html for a well written discussion on why an orgainization should use OSS.
Talk about expanding services without raising taxes or floating bonds. When they ask how you will improve things without spending money, talk about how when it comes time for the next round of upgrades you can save money by not paying $835 per user for MS Office, Windows and an Exchange seat, but $80 for all users.
Explain how commodity hardware (maybe even an old machine) can be used with Linux or *BSD and Apache to improve communication between the government and the people.
Talk about replacing, gradually and in a measured way, the computers at school with less expensive and better performing systems.
Then inform them that IBM, COMPAQ and DELL will help put this all together. Mentioning those three instead of Red Hat has a much better public recognition factor, that helps legitimize your effort.
Make the OSS part of a concerted well rounded plan on improving things by taking a new approach to how government is done, cheaper, smarter, less expensive.
Good Luck,
Dollars saved in license fees. Dollars not lost to M$ (was it $70k that MS sued VA Beach because they could not find all their license certificates). Dollars not lost to security breaches. See the LA Times article cited in today's /.
Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.
OTOH, many of them probably have strong opinions on government waste. Spending money on M$ and other proprietary products when free (as in beer or speech) alternatives exist could be spun as a big-vs.-small gov't or gov't waste issue (at least on the city level, where big software corporations won't go after you with huge campaign contributions to your opponent(s)).
Best of luck - we need more geeks in office.
OK,
- B
http://www.bradheintz.com/
- updated
of course it's appropriate.
actual public consideration of whose pockets gov't money goes to is seriously lacking in this country.
if people took a second to think about all the bootlicking, conflict of interest, and corruption that is routinely related to obtention of gov't contracts, much money would be saved and true fair competition (i.e., one based on quality and value, not on the size of the bribe) could occur.
this is applicable to everything from construction to defense, including IT. think about it for a sec.
peace
-p
dont say a word about anything technical..
#1 - cost savings... show the HUGE $$$$ saved.
your constituents will love this.. saving huge dollars right now is great for everyone. any naysayers (read that as MSCE's) will scream that ther are no productivity apps.. point out that there are in fact many many FREE productivity apps that work well. and that a county in florida has sucessfully switched and saved bags of money.
#2 - freedom.. Nationalism is runnung rampant right now... (not patriotism, but that's another issue) Open source screams freedom, freedom from being under control of a corperation... freedom from forcing a replacement of all computers every 2 years.
finally wrap it up as that computers in government are there to work for the people and to do the job, not to make money for large companies.
I would read everything you can about the communities that have changed to OSS and run from there.....
research your topic.... but the $$$ saved is what will get the attention of the sheep\b\b\b\b\b regular citizen out there.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
selling this idea to the rest of council. I'm not sure on the state of the city council in Charlottesville, but here in Toronto, City Council is an absolute mess. We have an incompetent mayor, surrouded by tens of councillors who are interested in nothing more than saving their collective arse.
The must be some sort of political leanings in the council, decide which side of the spectrum you are going to be on (I am assuming the Democrats) and work from there.
Even if you are elected on a mandate (do city councillors get a mandate?) of OSS, I don't think 1 councillor can do much on his/her own.
Is that a real poncho? I mean, is that a Mexican poncho or is that a Sears poncho?
Seems that some VA pride may help, too.
So far, I think the ideas of local user group pitches (for doorbell-ringing, get-out-the-vote help), and the advice of not being too over-the-top about it are good advicelets. Potential cost of the Virginia Beach episode, too. Plus, see if you can meet whoever is in the town/county's IT dept and feel them out.
Let us know how it went & Good Luck.
Business Software Alliance. The folks who get the US Marshals to conduct raids of companies AND CITY GOVERNMENTS that didn't pay their required license fees. Or at least didn't conduct the 100% compliance audit they were expected to conduct.
On topic: Using "free" (beer or speech) software may reduce costs associated with license fees and audits.
Yes, I know Redhat is not Linux, but it's American, though maybe a little too red for most of your constituents.
Do you really think the avarage luser has the interest, or intellectual capacity to grasp the concept of "open source" or even "sofware". Iv'e worked with senior helpdesk people that thought that Windblows was a part of their computer and when I tried to explain the difference between "operating system" and "computer hardware" I could see that I was describing motercycle riding to an octopus, dont bother, tell them it's cheap and use slang and monosyllables where possible.
I killed da wabbit -Elmer Fudd
While I understand your zest to incorporate OSS into your run for city council it just seems like a bad idea. Not because using the software in IT department isn't good, but because 95% of the voters (the people who actually CAST BALLOTS) don't know what the hell "Open Source" is, and really don't care how evil Microsoft is.
The best way to approach this is to write up a comprehensive plan for your vision of the city. If it includes OSS, that's cool. Emphasize the cost-savings on licenses, and the potential savings on hardware replacement (don't have to replace all servers every 24 months if the software doesn't become exponentially more bloated every year), and then move on.
Political reality is that most citizens care about two things: Crime in their neighborhood, and high taxes. As long as you take care of these two things, you're in good shape.
Who did what now?
According to M-W.com Patriotism is "love for or devotion to one's country." There was no mention of lip service. By your definition Free software "is about promoting the rights of users and creating an open and free environment to work in. " From what I understand of my country, freedom and the promotion of some basic rights are important ideals. Perhaps my analogy was not a perfect coorespondence, but I don't believe your flippant, cynical reply shed any light on the topic at hand, nor offered a clearer or better analogy.
Andrew
I'm no politician, so I don't know much about these things, but even if you lost, wouldn't you, as a citizen, still be able to bring forward a proposition to switch to Linux-based software? In any case, good luck.
"Non plaudite. Modo pecuniam jacite."
Besides the "it's the taxes, stupid" aspect covered by others, be specific about what you see Linux offering. What services do you see replacing, or offering for the first time? What problems (e.g., software audits) are you trying to avoid?
Finally, have you verified that you can actually have any effect? Many cities have charters that explicitly prohibit the city council from interfering with the daily operations of the city departments - that's province of the city manager.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. -- H L Mencken
1.) The only way people will care/notice is if it's cost-beneficial.
2.) Before opening your mouth and initiating a complete redesign of the IT department, see where the worker's capabilities and expertise lie.
Sure, open source is free, blah blah blah, but that doesn't take into account the administrative costs and training.
Open source isn't the answer to everything. ESPECIALLY Linux.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
If you're running for city council, stick to the top issues in municipal government: schools, taxes, crime, etc.
He just has to promise that he'll make better schools, lower taxes, and less crime! His opponent will never think of that!
Maybe a good idea would be to sell "Open Source" as "Public Works Software". People are used to things made for the common good being called "Public Works." When I hear the phrase, I think dams, irrigation, libraries, parks, etc. The subtext is that the Public Work will be free to the consumer, which is always a good thing. The opposite of a Public Work is an Evil Corporate Project, which is evil. So everyone is happy.
...No More VAXes
This should not be a major campaign issue. Making it one makes you sound like a zealot, which I am sure you are not>:).
Simply let people that you think understand the issue know your opinion. That is, let the 1% of people that unserstand know(maybe a small link on a website, or footnaot in a pamphlet) and that is it. No need to needlessly confuse anyone else.
At least up here in NoVA (Northern Virginia, the DC suburbs), the big issues in local elections are traffic, schools, crime. Taxes are always a factor, especially if it involves shipping $$ to Richmond and not getting as much back in roads, schools, etc...
In your case, there MIGHT be a campaign issue involving the "efficiency" of city government, espcially if there's a program to "wire" the city or get city departments "on line". Without knowing the politics in Charlottesville, I will assume it is not a burning issue. (It took Marion Barry YEARS to make government incompetance an issue in DC - by causing much of it - and it's STILL far from being fixed). Schools? You might have computers in the classroom issues, or the town/gown deal with UVA, but I expect just getting a "passing" grade on the state Standards of Learning exams are a big enough deal.
Sure, you can work open source software into elements of the campaign, but it isn't going to get you elected. Or understood.
[semi relevant factoid: The Al Gore presidential campaign web site ran on linux and used open source software throughout (apache, php, mysql...). Did anyone care? The campaign did - it saved them $$ and worked better than W's big $$ Dell cluster running ASP. Did it help the campaign - yes, for raising money and building "community". Did it make a difference in winning or losing the election? IMHO, not a bit.]
Give me a map and compass, drop me into the Amazon Rainforest, and I will be lost immediately too. But that Crocodile Hunter guy on TV would figure out where he is, and start walking. Might take him a week, but he would find his way out, while I would still be trying to reboot the compass.
Crikey! If you look ovah here, you can see a primo example of the dread Linux Hacker. 'e's a dangerous brute, but ain't 'e bayutiful?!
I can get this close to 'im because I respect 'is terrortree. You're a notty hacker! Yes you are! He's a dangerous wonk, alright, but I'm okay because I'm a trained profeshun'al.
Let's all remember the the Linux Hacker is an endangud species. Paoching and biggah predatas like the fanged Microsoft encroach on 'is terrortree more and more each yeah. If we want to keep these bayutiful creatuhs around, we gotta protect 'em!
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
I think would do it. You can make whatever you want an issue. Whether that's going to help you get elected is up to you. You make up your issues and then politic them to the people. How well you get your point across will depend on how good of a politician you are.
I suggest elaborating on how OSS can save money and be specific. Get your facts straight, it should make sense to the average citizen.
Say whatever you have to to get elected... Say you are pro-life, pro-choice, or whatever your constituency wants... I'd just be happy to see someone who is smart enough to use linux and read slashdot in government.
One of the nicest things about OSS being free as in beer (usually) is that you can just TRY stuff, without a large up-front cost. So if you have good ideas for integrating OSS into the IT infrastructure, you can start em going.
Also in OSS' favor, it comes with a community of volunteers who LIKE to work on projects. So you can recruit a couple people to start pilot projects for the infrastructure you want to replace or extend, and show people the goods before any substantial amount of money has been spent.
Starting small like this is also a good way to make sure your projects are really improving the situation.
Good luck, and good for you for running for office.
Related article from Newsforge
Abstract : Libertarian candidate for the Jacksonville, Florida, city council Adam Davis is a Web developer, FreeBSD user and Open Source advocate who says if he could choose any CEO to run his company, it would be Bill Gates.
And I said IF
How about accusing your competitor(s) of using windows(gasp!), thus costing the taxpayers more (that money could be going to the schools!) for inferior software(hears where you insert the advantages of linux) from a company that is in the throws of lawsuits and may break them up(I can wish can't I?). Argue the dissadvantages of windows to make linux shine through. Its like poking holes in paper with a light behind it(oh, I do like that clever one, I think I'll write it down).
Oh, and from a fellow Virginian, good luck (maybe you should run for Congress:)
open source alone won't interest your (average) voters a bit. But if you could reduce all administrative costs and hassle by offering them a web-based solution for the most frequent administrative things and in exchange tax them less on this, they'd be happy. Open source (which in itself doesn't cut for voters) would just be a part thereof.
for example, you could say:
before, you had to come and fetch a form, fill it out, wait a long time and pay $3 to have it processed.
If you vote for me, you could optionally fill the form at home (web), it would be processed automatically (cost savings), you don't have to wait (just come over and sign, maybe even not that => digital signature) and you'd have to pay only $0.5. etc.
And on top of all, it would together with other improvements (open source) save the town 350000$ a year
(numbers to be corrected)
And I'll guarantee you a seat at my evening
card WITH coke and pretzels!
Thanks in advance,
George W. Bush
One word: don't. 40,000 people aren't going to care about open souce. Period. Of course, some of them are, and that's great. Stick to popular tactics, and ONCE YOU'RE VOTED INTO OFFICE start making the changes from within.
Make your campaign slogan "Free as in Beer"
Then make posters like this:
FREE
as in
BEER
Make the "FREE" and "BEER" in a really big size, and the "as in" in a really small size.
Oh, don't forget to put your name on the poster somewhere too. In big letters. Probably as big as the letters you make "FREE BEER".
Seriously though, I would check with the town clerk or historian and see how much they have been spending on software over the past few years. Draw up a budget plan and present it to the people showing the disparate prices between the software, and the re-training/OSS costs.
--You will rephrase your request for me to go to hell. Goto statements are not acceptable programming constructs
Do a rough estimate of what computers exist in departments you'd have oversight for.
Figure the cost of licensed software on each one. Remember, taxpayers are funding this.
Work out the relative savings versus open source. Don't forget to factor in the cost of having a knowledgeable expert install and configure it all, and a day or two of training for the folks who have to use it and have no idea what it is.
This should give you a nice big round number of wasted tax dollers.
The rest of the campaign should write itself...
When was the last time that such minutia actually changed your vote one way or the other unless it directly affected you? Probably never.
.5% of the local government costs. All these decisions take time, far too much time for the average voter to concern themselves with. We have public officials and representatives for a reason.
Even if you THINK you do, I doubt you really do. In order to make an informed decision on these matters must spend SOME time learning the background and the difference between the competing alternatives. Even with an issue like Open Source, there is considerable debate in the technical community about whether or not it actually saves money and it's got to be even harder for the average person to make heads or tails of it. It's not as if there's a simple authoritative source you can go to that says Open Source > Closed Source. It may be trivial to discover that the software itself takes money to actually purchase, but finding out the actual support costs, training, quality of the software, and other elements takes a lot of time and intuition. Speaking for myself, I'd actually be opposed to this kind of adoption, especially in a government agency.
Now you're going to do this kind of research for each and every little item? Asphalt? Shovels? Paper? Paper clips? It may sound ridiculous, but I doubt software costs more than
This argument is especially ridiculous when you consider that the kinds of day to day payroll decisions made by managers have a far greater impact and cost far more. For instance, would you rather have an experienced admin run NT or a bunch of clowns running Linux? I know which I'd pick. Yet it's blatantly obvious that we can't effectively engage in this kind of oversight.
The city of Virginia Beach got a notice from Microsoft to audit their computers for software liscenses. With the amount of man power required to accomplish that task, coupled with the difficulty of finding every certificate for every piece of software (some almost a decade old), the city just paid them off for $200,000+. With a near 100% open source open source solution, a city could tell the BSA & Microsoft where they can put their audit. Businesses in the Norfolk, Hampton area have been receiving notices of intent to audit in recent weeks. Seems the words out Virginia's easy pickins.
I think this topic would not be something talk about to win an election, unless of course half the population of the city use said software. Preach Open and Free, people think weak and cheap. After you are elected, then make a stand.
People will be concerned about cost (since they pay for that) and privacy (they pay for that, too, if some hacker comes and snatches confidential data the city has about them). You don't have to specifically say the L-word, but you should campaign on issues like "saving taxpayer money" and "preserving city resident privacy by increasing security in the city IT department". If asked how you would do that say "If I am elected, I would form a special task force to review security, procedures, and cost structure in city government, including the IT department". Avoid saying "Microsoft vs. Linux" specifically, as that would make it appear you have an agenda not specifically associated with city political issues. If asked about that say something like "I will certainly make sure all our options are open, and if a change in software will make things more secure and reduce costs, then I'm all for that and will see to it that it gets done".
Be sure to read this, too.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
If the majority of your talking points don't tie in to those themes, the voters forget the points and don't have anything specific to remember you by ("Timothy, he's the guy that's for....uhhh, what the hell is he for?).
The "saving money theme" has already been beat to death in this thread, so I won't talk on it, save to say it's always a good one. Most of the slash-folks seem to think just using the cash to lower taxes is the only idea, but remember that you can also run on what you'll do with the extra $$--"I'm going to save our city X$ by using free software, and I'm going to use that money to offer free open-source training classes for you the voter, making you more employable during the current recession." This can tie in with the below:
Make tech one of your major themes. Local exec and leg are normally very focused on bringing jobs to the region; making your region more appealing to tech buisnesses is still a pretty valid agenda. Thus "making C'ville more high-tech" becomes one of your larger themes. Switching to open source, worker retraining and bringing in new biz can all be woven into that.
...it's high time that our governments took advantage of its investment in these quality resources.
:)
That's speech material right there. Has a beautiful ring to it.
"If he thinks he can hide and run from the United States and our allies, he's sorely mistaken." Bush on bin Laden
Get Dave to come back, play your campaign announcement party! He's already demonstrated he liked Napster. "I'm not going to come around and say 'Hey, give that back, that's mine!'."
:)
Give him a Daemon T-shirt, hand out the gunja, and you'll have tons of University votes.
... err, I can save you money and reduce tax money spent on monopolistic software licenses and companies that use illegal practices to rip us off."
Now start quoting self-serving statistics and court rulings until you feel empowered then remember to kiss a baby on your way out! Also, I like to mention the benefit of investing in people over software licenses when pitching an OSS based solution.
No one gives a shit about open source in politics. You're going to crash and burn!
"Our industries, our jobs, are under increasing pressure. Our livlihoods, our neighbors, our children are at risk. But I tell you, the answer need cost you nothing. Freedom for Charlotte to be prosperous, freedom from fear of "downsizing", freedom from the whims of Corporations a thousand miles away. That is what I have to offer, and it's real. The other choice is to live on moonbeams and fairy dust. Can you pay your bills with wishes? Then let us make Charlotte a city to be proud of!"
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Provide free food on the campaign trail and folks will vote for anything!
Ryan
"All your base are belong to this file I send in order to have your advice."
Unsolicited strategies for people who seek to use computers in government:
Anyhow, that's just a couple of ideas.
My father is a blogger.
Local politics is 90% about interest groups and 10% about social structures. You will not be successful at making OSS an issue unless there is either already an local political advocacy group (not simply the local LUG, guys!) led by knowledgeable political players or you create one.
You use this group to advocate OSS to the other local interest groups from the perspective of _their_ issues. DO NOT do this as the candidate! They care ONLY about what you're going to do about THEIR core issues! BUT, thru your front group, if you bring OSS issues closer to the front of the target group's agenda, positive marks from your front group will bleed over into the targetted interest groups.
The are the usual cost benefits of buying the software and running it on older hardware. But as more of the city runs on the same software they can support each other, this is similar in some ways to how the Military works.
They have contracts for support, but most issues are resolved by local units or calling someone at another base for help.
Linking this with schools would be a big push for me. Why not provide the students with the chance to work on the systems, or in the programming class to write software that the city needs? There are some schools in California where the computers are run by the parents and volunteers who work tech jobs. Since many schools require students to do community service to graduate this might also be an opportunity for that.
as a political scienist, I disagree pounding the sand with opensource. You best oppurnity is to address the many flaws that open source may be..,.
Hi!
By way of introduction, let me mention up front that I've been an elected public official, an elected party official, and I've run several political campaigns in municipal, county, and state senate races.
Let me offer some advice.
Don't pitch Open Source
You're attempting two impossible things at one time: you're raising an issue that you simply cannot get across in the limited bandwidth of a campaign; and you're staking your campaign on the city's website and it's present outsourced contractor. Picking on a city vendor is generally a bad campaign strategy, unless the vendor is already on the front page of the newspaper or the current mayor's brother-in-law. Otherwise you are perceived as "rocking the boat" and a nuisance--and you will guarantee yourself absolutely zero cooperation from municipal employees on issues like poster permits, etc. You also instantly create an opponent: the city official responsible for selecting the incumbent (Windows-based) web hosting firm. Who will, undoubtedly, be quoted in the newspaper as saying, "if this guy wants to be the city I.T. director, he should come down to City Hall and fill out a job application. Picking the software for the website isn't City Council's job...."
I'm not kidding. I have seen this happen before.
Back in the late 1980s I recruited a candidate to run for the local school board. This guy was perfect. He had a clue about schools and education, he had kids in the district schools, he was an assistant coach in the local township rec. league, and he had a terrific grasp of financial issues. Except....
The guy was going to TQM (Total Quality Management) training classes, and embracing the TQM religion. And he got religion--he started talking about implementing TQM in the schools, and he wouldn't get off the subject. He talked about it when he was campaigning, he talked about it when he talked to voters at home, he talked about it in his brochures, and he handed out a white paper on TQM at the League of Women Voters meeting. It was, um, a bit over the top. It's been maybe 10-15 years, and I still get grief from local leaders about the guy--where did I dig him up?
What you should do
Understand that you have a very limited amount of bandwidth to talk to the voter. And you have a very limited number of voters to talk to. And 95% of those voters are interested in races that they view as more significant than yours. All of which means that you simply cannot even begin to sell something as complex as Open Source, or as instantly controversial as "replacing the city's Internet consulting firm" (which is how the newspaper will report your campaign platform).
Instead, do these steps:
And hey--if you do get elected, drop me a note. My oldest daughter is going off to college in Lynchburg next fall, and I know she'll be traveling to C'ville for riding lessons. It might be handy to have a contact to call in an emergency.
I am a native Charlottesvillain. (I don't live there any more, though, so my vote is moot.)
It may be cool to some of us to see the folks down on Water Street (or whatever the address of City Hall is since the reboot of the east Mall) using free software, but honestly, the vast majority of people simply won't care. Aside from certain segments of the community (the UVa E-school, the usual anti-corporate rabblerousers, etc.), this really isn't an issue to the average citizen. They don't care what application prints the water bill; they just care that their last payment shows up on it.
I presume you're running for office for bigger reasons than free software. Charlottesville does have bigger issues, after all - growth, crime, dealing with UVa, revitalizing Downtown (hint: get rid of that $DEITY-forsaken "traffic calming" maze on Park Street!), etc. Most people care more about this stuff than technical details they'll probably never see. Concentrate on that. Save the free software advocacy for when you're elected. If you feel you must mention it, I'd go with the other advice here and couch it in economic, bang-for-the-buck arguments - you're going to be hearing a lot of those in Virginia for the next year or two anyway.
Best of luck to you.
Oh yeah, set up a VA State PAC for your front group. It's easy as hell and they have almost no restrictions on influencing VA State & Local Races.
Art on Cows
Just keep waving your hands in the air menacingly while shouting "Microsoft is the Devil!". And then hand out little cartoon booklets that tell a story of a penguin that loves us so much that he gave us his only kernel.
;)
This is Virginia after all
FYI, this is the real Waldo Jaquith's account. Somebody made an account named Waldo Jaquith and is posting some rather amusing flamebait. You know it's me because my UID rocks and his is astronomical. :)
Anyhow, I'd appreciate if moderators could moderate appropriately. Thanks, folks! Of to class...
-Waldo Jaquith
"LIVE FREE or DIE " can mean so many things in this day and age...
100% Insightful
Keep in mind that your job as a public official would be to serve the public's selfish interest. Using Open Source Software and Free Software just happen to be ways that often (but not always) serve that end.
What you tell them is that you are going to fight government waste of their tax dollars and reduce corporate welfare. And OSS/FS are one of the ways you'll do it.
You explain how they allow you to get software (if it already exists) for little or no expenditure. And for software that doesn't yet exist or needs a lot of mods, it allows you to shop around among contractors to get the best bid (since you have the code, instead of them). And if the desired mods are popular, you may even be able to con some suckers (perhaps even in another country) into doing the work for you, for free, without any taxpayer expenditures at all!
I've heard there have been recent BSA radio ads. It would be amusing if those same ads were immediately followed by ads that say that if you're elected, you'll use software that doesn't require that the local government employ auditors to serve the interest of some private megacorp on the other side of the country.
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
Umm Okay has anyone actually read any of the comments and such that this guy has posted back??? and in addition have you looked at his profile??? bizarre....
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice. RUSH
As a city council member you won't be in a position to mandate(or even vote on) using open source software.
This is the city manager's job, not the councils. As someone who has worked with several local governments, listen to this...by involving yourself into the day to day management decisions of the city you will do nothing but piss the manager off. At worse, he/she will leave for greener pastures forcing the city council to hire a new one (a process that will be more costly and more detrimental to the city then whether or not they use OSS).
Do you really want to be known as the one who caused the exit of your manager or city's IT staff?
At the least you may be able to work something into the budget, but don't expect anyone to really care what you're doing.
ÕÕ
Naturally, I see lots of areas in Charlottesville's IT infrastructure (as well as potential areas of expansion) where Linux and various free software projects would be ideal.
What do you mean by naturally and ideal? Are you saying that you are just emotionally partial to Linux and free software, or do you actually have some factual data to clearly demonstrate that usage of Linux for the city's IT infrastructure would save money, manpower, or other resources while improving the quality of service?
Oddly, if you can't come up with any concrete, plain-english benefits of such a switch to lay out for your "end-users" (voting citizens), then that probably means there aren't any (or at least none that you've thoroughly investigated in any fashion). Even more oddly, voters tend to care about initiatives that actually result in visible improvement in their lives--lower taxes, better quality of service from their elected officials and government, etc.
Your attitude appears to be nothing more than dictatorial. "I like Linux, so what can I do to make everyone else like it too?" You're asking the wrong question. If you aim to be an elected official, you ought to be asking, "How can I best utilize technology to accurately and quickly communicate with the citizens I represent so I may find out what is actually important to them and make them feel like I'm really listening to them?"
- "It's just a matter of opinion!" - PRIMUS
Fighting for open source is not a great idea for a campaign. First of all your target audience (the general masses) does not care about whether their elected officials use Linux or Windows. Secondly, you don't want to get into a Windows vs Linux argument with your opponent. Political campaign is not the right place for this struggle.
_______________________________
"I'm not Conceited...I'm just a realist..."
The last time I spoke with former President Clinton, he reminded me of the fable of Hui-Tse, a Chinese scholar of legend. He once wrote that if man gives away his creations, they become the very tools with which civilizations can forge more tools with which to grow and prosper. If however, they keep their creations to themselves, they simply grow old and self-absorbed. Let these words be a reminder to all those who attempt.
If you want to do geeky stuff then get a job doing that for your locality, don't go sit in city council or whatever and try to dictate administrivia. If you want to get involved in broad range of local issues then run for office.
Every place gets it's fair number of single-issue candidates every season. Some are anti-abortion, some are obsessed with more money for the schools, or getting better playing fields for sports, or are gun nuts, whatever. You - apparently your big theme is Open Source and expanded IS.
Guess what: Most folks don't want to see bozos like that in office.
You can't pick and choose what will be local issues. Sure you can sit on or even possibly chair committees (though rookies don't often do that) but at best you'll spend 5% of your time and energy on a pet project; the rest of the time it'll just keeping the wheels of goverment turning.
Water & sewage, roads and schools, contracts and insurance, negotiating with unions and filling out paperwork for other layers of government. These are all your responsibilities and unless you're willing to commit yourself to fulfilling all of these then you're absolutely the wrong person for the position.
Sure it's nice to daydream "If I were King" but you won't be: You'll be an elected official working within an established system. Try to tell the local civil service IS employees what to do and they'll smile, give to 30 minutes of their time then dismiss you as a gadfly, though perhaps as a useful gadfly in the future.
Do yourself and your constituents a favor: Decide if you really want to be an elected official or if you want to play with computers.
I don't read ACs: If a post isn't worth so much as a nom de plume to its author then I wont bother either.
Get more people to vote for you.
How?
Name recognition. In local races where party affiliation is less important, people vote the name they know.
How do you get name recognition?
Doorbell every registered voter. Goes to name recognition. In a town of 40,000 people, half will be registered. So 20,000 people, probably 10,000 households, roughly 10 months to the election. So visit 250 houses a week. That's doable, especially if you drop the precincts you know will not vote for you.
Get out the vote. Identify precincts with high voting rates that you believe will be inclined to vote for you. Election day, your volunteers will harass every single one of them to go out and vote.
Mail. This reinforces name recognition.
Yard signs don't get out the vote or persuade voters but they do give you credibility and visibility as well as pacifying your base.
With a visit from you during the year, a mail piece a couple weeks prior to the election and a phone call on election day, every single registered voter will have heard/seen your name at least three times in three different ways, not counting any sightings of your yard signs.
A town of 40,000; only half are registered and less than half will bother to vote, probably only a third in an off year election. And you need half of that to win.
So, you only need 3400-5000 votes to get elected to anything in a town of 40,000. It takes a fair bit of work but anyone can do it. That's how you end up with these kooky types in city councils, state legislature seat, etc. They simply worked hard for it.
Just don't. Trust me on this, the average user just does not care about his computer. He does not care about improving performance, or being able to tweak his programs, or helping other programmers. He just wants "the machine" to work. If you focus on open source, you will get hammered in any and all public forums. Just for the heck of it, here's a quick sample speech by a hypothetical opponent of yours that could be made after you gave an "open-source" schpeel:
"Ladies and gentlemen, like many of you, I have heard Mr. Jaquith's speech on the benefits of switching the town to what he calls 'open-source' software. And like many of you, I am confused. Our city need money for roads, and schools. Our children need more parks and playgrounds, and children's programs to keep our youth off the streets. As we go into this new century, our city faces questions of crime, of poverty - Mr. Jaquith talks about Linucks and Debean or whatever it's called - I, for one, cannot make heads or tails of it.
And that's his perogative, of course - the right to campaign freely is what makes this country what it is, the unshakeable roots of our culture. But not to put too fine a point on it, do the people of Charlottville really care about my worthy opponent's issues? As long as our taxes and payrolls for city workers are processed in a timely manner, as long as other computerized fuctions are carried out properly - why should we change them? Even Mr. Jaquith cannot tell us how they will save any meaningful amount of time - in fact, I tell you it will cost us time, as our town employees are forced to learn the new system. So why does Mr. Jaquith want this?
I can tell you that. He believes that it is wrong, my friends, to pay for software. He believes a product that costs thousands of man-hours to produce must be given away for free, and that those who would not do this are evil. Go to a web site called slashdot.org, or freshmeat.net, or read any "linux advocacy" magazine, and the "open source" position becomes clear.
I know that this is a tight race, and that I may not be elected. That's fine, that's the democratic process, and I can accept that. But my fellow citizens, I ask one thing of you. When the time comes for you to vote, vote based on the issues that actually matter to your lives. Schools, taxes, health care - if you do not agree with me on these things, then please do not vote for me. But please don't vote for Waldo Jaquith for the sake of a complex new system that we don't need. Thank you."
It's a little rough, I admit, but with a little polishing it might be good against you, sir. Find "real" issues, like those mentioned in the speech above, and campaign on those - open source is something you can work for once you're actually in power. I hope this helped.
I'm the stranger...posting to
As much fun as it would be to represent /. on the city council, we're not your constituency. It doesn't matter what we think, and looking at the penetration of linux into government agencies, I'm guessing our messaging skills are about as bad as geek communications reputation would suggest.
:)
Go ask your neighbors! First, talk to a couple of people you trust to be honest with you. Tell them you think this is an important issue that people should care about, and then explain why. Ask them if you've convinced them. Ask them what arguments were convincing and which seemed irrelevant to them. Then go talk to your neighbors.
Try to get a feel for which arguments work with them and which made them think you were a crazy geek. Use the arguments that work!
BTW, people might not care. You might not be able to get them to care. And you'll be more likely to be elected if you listen to the things people in your community care about, and offer ideas for how to deal with those things. You can obsess about open source issues when you get there.
You might want to work with someone who has done community organizing in your area, especially consumer-oriented groups.
These opinions are my own. My employer is not aware of them, does not endorse them, and is not responsible for them.
"Microsoft Tax"
You can say something about expecting your experience in IT can save the city $$, but the fact is that most of the expenditures in city government involve things like road construction, public health, etc. where the cost of software is a very minor percentage of the pie. The best bet on saving the city money is to pry the 'preferred' contractors off the public teat.
You said this better than I did. Last year, there was a guy running for some hospital district position or something. I have no idea what he stood for; I don't even know what the position does. But I voted for him because my friend worked with him and thought he was a good guy so I remembered his name when I got my ballot.
Really? Who supposes that, and why? I propose the radical concept that anyone who does so is misled or misinformed. The minimum wage is just that, a minimum. It covers the entire nation, not just the high-cost-of-living areas. And it isn't adjusted for personal circumstances; it has nothing whatsoever to do with how much it actually costs to live.
And it shouldn't. The minimum wage is effectively a floor wage for people who aren't making tips and have few or no useful skills. Raising the purchasing power of the minimum wage decreases the incentive to develop better skills, which indisputably decreases the wealth of society as a whole. While raising the minimum wage has its advocates, the people who march to that drum fall into four groups:
- The disaffected and powerless, looking for a leader (not unlike the radical Islamic youth).
- Leaders of group 1.
- People afraid of competition from group 1 if they were to find a clue.
- People without the brains or experience to see through fallacious feel-good arguments.
I assume that you fall into group 3 or 4 here.Scientists restrict study to entire physical universe; creationist
Open Source, Open Government.
Use the open source philosophy as a selling point. Say you want your goverment to work like open source does, where everyone contributes, where everything is out in the open (no secret deals), and where it works perfectly.
It will be a huge paradigm shift for most politicians, but IF you can pull it off, you will be on the road to the presidency and you will have DESERVED it.
"Your superior intellect is no match for our puny weapons!"
If working help desk/tech support while in my first two years at college taught me anything, it is that people are dumb. They don't care about their computers, whether it is Mac, Windows, Linux, or "Microsoft Office" or "Word Perfect." They just want it to work, and if they have to pay the bills, they want it cheap. If you can prove that this will positively effect their pocketbooks (I'm not entirely convinced that Linux is all that much cheaper than Windows with amortized costs), then they will vote for you.
1. Although Linux is cool, what role does it play in local politics? How will Linux help Bluebird attract more customers? 2. As a former resident of VA, I would suggest your electorate does not understand the concept of "source" let alone open source. Although many UVA students would understand, they are probably not registered to vote in Charlottesville, they make their homes in NOVA or NY. The townies are uneducated and thus don't care about "open source" and the benefits it will provide for white collar workers. Why bother? Why not raise issues that matter? Burgenoning bum population? Horrendous traffic for a small town.
If i program it, shouldn't I say what the license is as a individual???????
Can you sell the idea of open source or low-cost IT options in a political race?
Sure.
The question is: do the people want it?
This is a common mistake that new candidates make: Trying to "sell the people" on something that's important to the candidate without asking whether the people care about it in the first place.
Your experience in building IT infrastructure certainly could be something that helps create the image that you're ready for the job, if the job has an obvious computer component to it.
But chances are the people care more about issues that are accessible to them. Issues like crime, education, the economy, or (lately) their personal safety.
What you should do is ask the people what they want and then try to find a way to show them that they can get it by supporting you.
This emphatically does not mean that you should just tell them what they want to hear. Stick with what you know and who you are. But if you're not presenting it in terms of what the people want, (instead of what you happen to think is kewl), then you're wasting your time and theirs.
My response to you would be to create a "tax plan" or something else that people can understand. In it, you can plan to sell your Microsoft Windows/Office licenses and replace them with Linux using StarOffice. Cite Largo, FL as an example.
One thing I would avoid though is starting a discussion on esoteric issues. Remember that 99% of the voters out there probably don't even know there is an alternative to Windows and what you don't want is a debate to begin about issues that the public isn't interested/educated in. Focus on issues that matter to the people: reducing taxes, or better yet paying teachers more without increasing taxes! That's a sure fire winner. Avoid putting yourself into a situation where your agenda can get shot down prematurely by the public/media's ignorance on the specifics. Do you remember if Bush ever had to defend all the numbers and specifics within his tax plan last election? No, he didn't. If you say you'll pay teachers more and not increase taxes, and you say you'll do it by cutting gov't waste, people just believe you.
If you are at some point forced to make a case defending Open Source software, then you can bring in some OS heavy weights to make the case for you.
One last thing, call Red Hat (they're in your own backyard) and visit your local Linux User Group. Republican or Democrat, they'll all vote for you because us Linux people are mostly bigots. I'm a hard-core conservative Republican and I'd vote for you if you would replace Houston's IT infrastructure with open source.
The reason is simple, there are several compaines that make a lot of money selling the city M$ junk. They will object if they get wind of your open source attitude. They will point out that your open source attitude will cost them jobs which the other tax payers will not like. They will spin you out of the picture and you could find ads for your oponents paid for by M$ who has more money than you do. Thouse voters that do care won't make a difference compared to the large number of voters that don't but are cuaght up by the spin doctors.
My advice, go on other issues. If asked about your software views say your "_open_ about them" and if you win, chase the M$ money through the goverment and take a axe with you.
I absolutely agree that money is what voters are going to care about: talking to them about open-source software is like talking to them in Martian, but if you start talking asking why the local government is using "expensive" Microsoft software instead of "free linux", they will at least notice.
Another reduced cost is reduced cost of hardware: since Linux runs nicely on less powerful hardware, older computers could potentially be put back into service if they're on hand, and existing computers could be kept in service longer because they won't be made obselete immediately by rapidly bloating commercial software. A lot of constituents have purchased computers. A lot of them will have had the experience of buying what they think is an expensive new computer, only to find it's obselete (or at least out of date) in six months to a year. Remind them of this experience and point out that their city goes through the same thing... and explain how Linux can save their tax money by greatly slowing down that new-to-obselete cycle.
As a secondary issue, if the current operating system of choice for the city is from Microsoft, you could start asking why the city government is spending tax money on an illegal monopoly - "giving your tax money to lawbreakers!"
Finally, I'd say don't be unrealistically optimistic: the change to Linux will involve some staff time, possibly bringing on some temporary IT staff to help with the changeover, and possibly retraining existing IT staff or hiring an additional sysadmin or two, and at least minor internal retraining for all staff about applications. Stress that by making a minor outlay to make the change now, the many kinds of long-term savings we've enumerated here can occur in the future.
Your city has comp sci teachers in highschool? Wow. The only programming class my school offers is Visual Basic with a teacher who knows how to do "hello world" and add things with the standard library.
"Upon attaching the waterblock to my penis, I began to notice that I know nothing about computers." -- JRockway
No GNU taxes!
Simple but not easy...
You must fight UCITA, fight SSSCA and most of all fight ignorance. The general public have no idea this stuff is happening. If they did, they would fight too. You see it's just that by the time everyone hears about such laws and bills, they are already in effect. Education of technology is your platform.
That this guy makes the strongest points for your side.
But I would most strongly emphasize the rerouting the money issue, and the security holes. People love throwing out numbers of how much cash was lost trying to get rid of the latest virus that hits a Microsoft flaw is.
If you want to be really dirty (and in politics, this translates to "successful"), you'd catch your opponents off guard, and promise a couple things to the people that you could allocate funds to creating.
When your oppoenents ask how you plan to do this, seeing as how you wouldn't have enough money, point out that you would do this through open source software, bring figures, and show that you Microsoft proponent nemeses would have to raise taxes to do what you want to do, all because they feel like lining Gates' pockets...and then compare the whole situation to Enron.
Netjak.com independent reviews of domestic & import video ga
Fabulous! If you push the reinstall rate back from 1 per node per year to one per node per 3 years (or even less with something like Debian) you save about $120 per node per annum in admin time alone, to say nothing of the value of user's time. If you go whole hog and use diskless, this drops even more, as does the replacement rate and hardware failure rate. Note that I haven't mantioned cost of software yet, and this is only a couple of aspects of ROI.
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
"million to one chances turn up nine times out of ten"
Wasn't that a quote from Terry Pratchett's "Mort" ?
(while discussing on the chances of anything as absurd as Great A'Tuin actually existing)
"Luck is my middle name," said Rincewind, indistinctly. "Mind you, my first name is Bad." -- Terry Pratchett
This past election, I ran for Mayor of Seattle, suggesting, among other things, that the city adopt a more streamlined data policy to help citizens get access to city data. I would gladly forward you the text of this proposal.
I suggest that you write out exactly how the process will save money, afford greater access to information, and run the city more efficiently. Then give it a catchy name ("iTOP" : The Information Technology Overhaul Policy") and send out press releases with a cover note explaining how this policy would be good for the city (and trgherefore worthy of coverage) regardless of who becomes elected to office.
Then refer to the iTOP in every speech, and get your volunteers to publically ask other candidates "What is your position regarding iTOP?"
Scott Kennedy
scott@bitstar.com
Especially since this race is in Charlottesville, VA, a town I know incredibly well being that I live very close and used to work there, you are going to have little luck with the public incorporating open source issues into your race. I wish it weren't the case, but in most towns, and especially yours, the stigma against digital issues is very great. People don't feel like the issue is of real concern because they don't see the tangible effects in the same way as, say, a transportation law or a tax bill. Humans are naturally selfish, and if they don't see things affecting them they don't care. It's truly unfortunate, but that's the way it is.
Sir, you are very very good - far better than I at political debate. Thank you for pointing out the holes in my argument. I should point out that I am not really an anti-closed source zealot - were I forced to define my position, "moderately pro-open-source" would do. Well fought!
I'm the stranger...posting to
Speaking as someone who has worked for an IT department in a local government; Do your people a favor and don't make this a campaign issue unless it is already.
The IT department should be free to choose the software and hardware tools that meet their budget and technical needs as well as solving the problem at hand.
I'm a Unix administrator with 14 years experience and a major proponent of Linux. The last three companies I've worked for have all wound up with at least part of their infrastructure based on Linux by the time I left. But this was all done because Linux was the right tool for the job, not because it was mandated.
However, in one case, what I recommended caused a bit of a stir. Why? Because as my position of head of the IT department for Engineering, I recommended NT4. It was the right tool for that particular situation and while I would have prefered a Unix based solution, it would of sucked to use and it would have sucked to support. And, it would have cost the company way more in time for both my staff and for Engineering.
If you would like to have a compaign issue mandating that open-source solutions be considered along with proprietary ones, good. My feeling is that this is similar in nature to requiring government contracts be placed out to bid. Open source solutions should be given the chance to be put forth, even though they may not have a salesperson pushing them.
M2cW.
Brad
As a resident of Cville, I'd point out that tech *jobs* are far more important than what OS our fair city runs. And now that I think about it, open source means even fewer jobs in the municipal IT depts (*grin*)
Seriously Waldo, tech jobs are the technologically-focused issue. More jobs, more taxes. More jobs, lower unemployment. More jobs, better standard of living for the techies.
"If elected, I promise only to buy chairs from Company X! VOTE ME!"
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
It does not seem that many people have realised the fact that this man is a troll; the story is fake just look at his posting history. Christ...is it really that hard to see? I must say, however, that it is a good and pretty funny one.
AHAHAHAH you didnt get first post sucka!! First post was at 11:39 biatch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The business of government --local or national -- is NOT TO MAKE OR FIX SOFTWARE. It is to govern.
99% of businesses and government agencies should NOT be writing software. They will need to use it.
Open Source is not the appropriate platform for users -- and the community is users. It is the appropriate place for hackers, programmers, etc. That is not the mission of the government.
You wouldn't believe how many times I've had this argument with my school's tech administrator. I mean seriously, a heterogenous network of over 200 Windoze and Mac machines is just a little ridiculous - not to mention the inconsistencies between Mac and Win versions of Word.
Simple.. just explain the concept of free software = more money in the budget for other things...
The masses may be dumb, but they've got an ok grasp on basic economics.. just target your campaign statements toward the folks that are complaining about not enough money for "x" in the budget.. show them with pie charts and bar graphs how the actual dollars saved will be actually spent to improve the community..
Knowledge != Intelligence
Because there's no insight in that argument. I've personally known a crack whore baby factory, and the thought of her makes me sick. Welfare is shit, it's degrading to Americans, and it should be eliminated.
...I see a large middle ground as preferable to a small (15%? I forget) portion of the populace controlling 80% of the wealth.
I just love statistics (sarcasm,) especially when used so gracefully.
Sounds eerily similar to the bullshit campaign Gore used last time around. Let me explain why that stat is pure shit:
Let's say we have 5 people. Each person makes $1 per day at work base salary. One of those people is the manager, who gets $3 more per day because of his hard work and promotion to a higher position. So, that person gets paid $4 while the others just get $1, bringing the total amount paid to all employees $8. That's an atrocity!!! 20% of the workers now control 50% of the money!!! Oh GOD, let's ban capitalism right away and give that whole Communism thing another go-round!!!
OK I'll stop with the sensationalism. The point is that I have no problem with a few people being rich and a few people being poor, because I'm a competitor and I plan on being successful. If I fail, so be it, I'm not going to accept money from the government. If I succeed, I'm going to be extremely pissed off that 60% of my money goes to paying for slack asses to live. In life there are winners and losers, I believe Darwin referred to it as the process of natural selection. We need to stop forcing the winners to bail the losers out. Churches, community groups, families, things like that should be (and would be if people didn't have to pay so many taxes) the benefactors to the needy, not the government and my hard earned paycheck.
~ now you know
Create a plan on how to use the money you
saved by not using Microsoft, or say that
you will give x dollars back to each taxpayer.
Possibly you could create a digital government
initiative which would reduce costs and provide
jobs to local talent pool, though it would not
be easy to show how/when you would save money.
Perhaps easiest is to look at example of a city
which has switched and modify it for your needs.
Also, you could calculate your liability in the
event that you actually had to pay Microsoft for
all of the liscenses and upgrades that they require. Perhaps it would work out to something
significant.. this money could be again, given back to the people, or better yet show some leadership and use it to hire people who can
save you more. Open source isn't just about money, it also means people can modify the code.
That's a community project and you could foster
the development of solutions for government starting at home, and take advantage of work done
elsewhere for other local governments.
Also you could check and see how many people have
ADSL or cable Internet access and see how happy they are. Maybe linux could be part of an initiative to give good access or other services to homeowners courtesy of the city and open source.
Don't.
Or rather, don't make open source a focal point in your campaign because you'll just get 40,000 glazed eyes, and 40,000 people who will think you're a nut who has focused on some small aspect of the campaign rather than the "big issue" ideas such as city management, police, fire, and schools.
Of course if you do put together a position paper on your overall campaign, you may want to toss out open source as a line item, or a minor talking point. But by and large, think of a campaign as a very large job interview in front of 40,000 potential employers who don't give a damn and who can't be bothered to read your resume.
If I were you, in this current election cycle, I would concern myself with police first, schools second, and local concerns third. If open source even comes up, talk about it as a potential tax savings that can potentially be used to help fund police efforts or whatever.
By the way, a realistic estimate of the cost to transition a town to open source should factor in the cost to retrain users and the cost for your town's MIS department to make the transition in terms of lowered productivity and consulting time. And while overall you probably will save a fair amount of money, realistically speaking the fiscal savings over the course of a year may not buy one police squad car. (Not that the savings is insignificant, but in the scope of running a town, it's relatively small chump change.)
Oh, and by the way, slightly off topic: beware political math done by any of your opponents! When I helped my brother win in the city council in Fresno several years back, it was done largely because he went up against an opponent who tried to claim that a $1 million savings in one place could be used to hire a hundred police officers and pay their salaries for one year. (Do the math: factoring in training costs and the cost of supplies, what's left wouldn't pay minimum wage.)
Oh, and beware the last minute advertising blitz! That is, beware of your opponents taking out a whole bunch of last minute advertising which sways the voters away from you. The last election cycle, my brother was defeated because his opponent violated campaign financing rules (a criminal offense in this state) to buy advertising that painted my brother as a crook. (The irony there should be obvious.)
Anyways, good luck!
But you forget the great axiom: "A person is smart, but people are stupid."
IE, you, by yourself, would be very interested in what this guy has to say. You, plus a few thousand of your fellow voters, wouldn't give a shit.
yada-yada-yada
The council can make a final desicion on stuff like this, but generally there is a technology coordinator and admisistrator for the city that gets to make all of these decisions. These details are generally below a council members radar at the city hall where I work.
Sir Timbly of Cannatuna, offical Knight of the Heptagonal Table
Thanks, folks. The answers that seem to be the most correctish are the ones that read "what are you, stupid?" The point being that this is a topic of such piddling interest and without bearing on the Real World(tm) that it has nothing to do with a city councilor, least of all with a campaign. It's the IT guy's job, end of story, for the most part. I had suspected this to be the case, but figured that it was something worth asking /. about.
:) Thanks, all.
Now I know.
-Waldo Jaquith
I never use my moderation points, I wish I could have saved them to use now. Somebody else Moderate this up, this guy is an obvious troll.
Quoted from his user Info:
Hi, my name is Waldo Jaquith, and when I grow up, I'd like to be a ninja. Not just any ninja, mind you, but a gay ninja. "Waldo Jaquith, The World's First Gay Ninja." Has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Also, I hate children. If I am ever elected for public office, I will enact legislation prohibiting procreation, because God told me to do so. God also told me to take all existing children, and lock them in dog cages until they reach eighteen years of age. And what God says, I do! Would you like a jar of urine?
Need he say more. God I hope he isn't running for office.
Seriously. You are taking a poll of Slashdot. Slashdot doesn't represent the general public. If Open Source Software is an issue that swings you votes, it will be because of your knowledge of the issues and reasons pro and con, and by how you use it as an example to demonstrate to the public that you are competant with technology. Going into a side track in which none of your constituents will understand will cost you votes.
Slashdot is great for technical advice, but it represents a very small portion of the population. I'd say that most people on slashdot have used linux. That makes them in the 1% of people who care.
Politics is like herding sheep. They care that you can solve the problems of the herd, not what brand aftershave you use. Know that there is a choice, explain the choice when the appropriate time comes, long after you get elected, and let your people decide. If the people don't feel like they have some say in the matter, then they won't reelect you.
The Finnish city of Turku just few weeks ago published an research on the pros and cons of migrating from Windows/MS Office computers to Linux/OpenOffice environment (a short note about it can be found here. The verdict was that city would save considerate amounts of money by doing this and so migration is started first by installing OpenOffice to existing Windows systems and slowly starting to migrate tho OS as well (first Linux workstations should be running by 2003).
"There is a terrorist behind every bush"
If you want to get elected, you are thinking about it the wrong way.
It should not be "how can I talk to people about the issues close to my heart (e.g. OSS)". People don't give a damn about the issues close to your heart. They want to hear you say something convincing about the issues _they_ care about. I bet you £20 that Open Source is not one of them.
Look at the polls, figure out what's important to people in this area, work out your communication strategy based on that. When you get elected, you can always push OSS or whatever.
This may sound cynical, but I reckon that if you aren't focused on the issues that matter to your electorate, then you don't deserve election - and you have a lot to learn as a politician.
Instead of simply saying "It will save money," say what it will allow the town to do with that money. For example, say something like "With the money we save from software expenses by using Open Source products, the town will be able to afford to put X number of new computers in the town library for public use, and X number of computers will be donated to the local school. This will give greater public access to the Internet, and ensure that our children are prepared to function in the 21st century."
Don't think too hard, because you won't be in any office.
Councilmen don't make decisions about PC stuff, civil service people do. This is not a hot-button issue that anyone outside of the IT community cares about one way or another.
The big money in government is spent on professional services during installation -- not software.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
I agree with all this. The word to use is "Transparency" as in "...and efforts to improve government transparency both now and the the future." If this stirs some emotions, elaborate a little.
Open source definately can help with government transparency since any audit can be more complete, and the data -- the work -- of the governement does not become stale or unretrievable.
A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
If all of us open source advocates around the country sent a few bucks to every politician in a region that actively worked toward an open source society, we might be surprised by how many politicians would adopt open source as an important platform. Money talks to those guys.
Maybe someone on the web is already keeping 'open source' score on candidates & elected politicians in local districts - if so please reply and tell us where.
Let me tell you how it really works: the minimum wage is set by the legislature according to the pressures of trade unions and populists (the former want labor priced higher to decrease competitive pressure on their members, the latter so that they can talk up "all that they've done" for that fraction of their constituents who remain employable at the higher minimum) versus the employers, particularly small business (who are responsible for a lot of the entry-level employment opportunities and whose competitiveness is most affected by the minimum wage). The political class uses the minimum wage to extort contributions from the competing interests so that they don't get trampled in the process.
"Now is the time that men work quietly in the fields, and women weep softly in the kitchen; the Legislature is in session, and no man's property is safe." - Daniel Webster
It's no paradox; it's called "non-monetary interest" or "deferred gratification". People do what they find rewarding. People (mostly women, but both sexes) remove themselves from the workforce to raise children. People live on poverty-level stipends as graduate students, in the interest of getting more education and a better position later. (Need I mention that highly-paid unskilled labor tends to be replaced by automation, and automation is created by highly-skilled people? Should I add that automation increases the productivity per hour of work and raises the general standard of living?)If people would rather work at a low-skill position than an unskilled position despite the latter paying more, it obviously has some other kind of reward. Prospects for advancement are one such reward, emotional gratification is another. However, one usually finds such situations where wages are set by government fiat, such as the higher wages of bus drivers over doctors in the (defunct) Soviet Union.
Not in the USA, it's not; it's more of an oligarchy. But this is a symptom of the political class holding out laws for sale to the highest bidder; if the political class had no such power (such as if it was forbidden to exercise such powers), the problem would cease to exist. Hah! A highly-skilled individual can earn whatever people are willing to pay, unless the government steps in and forbids individuals from running their own businesses and effectively chains them to one other another s\l\a\v\e\m\a\s\t\e\r corporate employer. The political class has a strong interest in doing this, because a few large organizations are much easier to shake down and/or control than a horde of small ones. Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for lunch, and don't delude yourself otherwise. Constitutional democracy is better, but still not perfect. The political class is too good at finding its way around constraints on its power. As practiced in Europe, this appears to set up against the "right" of the individual to be unemployed even if they would prefer to have a job; the unemployment rate in Europe was running over twice that of the USA the last time I checked. The minimum wage is one of the things keeping people from getting jobs, as any job which doesn't produce enough value to exceed the minimum wage will not exist even if a job-seeker would happily take it. Of course capitalism is anti-democratic. Capitalism is about liberty, the freedom to do things without having to obtain someone else's approval first. Democracy as practiced by socialist states in Europe has ossified, but few of its citizens seem to be able to see the source of their troubles, and fewer still are ready to make the required changes.That's all right, the USA can use the influx of your disaffected entrepreneurs.
Scientists restrict study to entire physical universe; creationist
That reminds me... didn't someone say we can filter AC's now? Or am I thinking of K5?
Ok, i just havent got to read Guards Guards and Last Hero yet (theyre hard to find here in argentina). ;-)
I feel ya on the OT issue
maybe we should get some wizards to help us... anyone got Unseen Universitys phone number?
seeya
"Luck is my middle name," said Rincewind, indistinctly. "Mind you, my first name is Bad." -- Terry Pratchett
And Windows is different?
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing