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Ask the 'Geek Candidate' for California Governor
No, not Arnold Schwarzenegger. We're talking abut Georgy Russell, who studied computer science at UC Berkeley, often wears ThinkGeek clothing, has a blog, reads Slashdot, and knows how to run Linux. Since this California electoral free-for-all has turned into a worldwide spectator sport as bizarre as any other 'Reality TV' show currently airing, Slashdot might as well get in on the media frenzy and interview a candidate, and Georgy is the obvious choice. We'll email Georgy 10 of the highest-moderated questions, and publish her answers (and, yes, the chosen questions in the same post) as soon as she replies.
I would like to know if you fear that two of your more controversial issues (legalization of marijuana and gay marriages) will be detrimental to your campaign?
While I believe that as more and more "young" people run for and are elected to office, these items might come to pass, don't you think that it is a little early to be attempting to make these strides?
My other issue is your stance on Health Care. The fine State of CA has many illegal immigrants on its soil, (in fact it depends on those people for many "lowly" jobs IIRC). Are you planning on REAL citizens covering the insurance costs for these illegal immigrants and their children? Don't you see this as a large enough burden on the population as it is?
How are you going to fix the world's 5th* largest economy?
* ABC News last night
There are four boxes used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order.
Why?
I'll do it for cheesy poofs.
What are your views on the RIAA's recent actions to protect their copyrights?
Rule #1 -- Politics always trumps technology.
With the names of such heavyweights as Arnold and lightweights like Gary Coleman (no pun intended - well, all right, it was), do you honestly hope to win, or are making a Ralph Nader like point in forcing certain issues and ideas into the public's eye?
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
How do you think your involvement in technology can translate to leading California, and indirectly, the rest of the country? I see here that you have filed for several patents. How do you feel about companies such as PanIP using patents as a basis for lawsuits rather than innovation? Will you make intellectual 'property' a campaign issue?
Do you actually think you will win? If so, will you be dissapointed if you win with such a small percentage of californians to voted supporting you?
espo
In light of the budget crisis, does the candidate consider illegal imigration into the state of California a problem? If so, does she intend to crack down on it?
Likewise, will the funding of benefit programs to imigrants (legal or otherwise) be cut, maintained, or increased?
Do you think you stand a chance against Arnold? If so, why?
Pundits would be quick to point out that "obviously, he'd not run if he didn't think he had a chance"...but I doubt that ~130 miscellaneous people really think they have a chance against Arnold, or even Gary Coleman. Gary Coleman even said he doesn't expect to win, and that he supports Arnold.
"Mod, mod, mod...and another troll bites the dust."
Why does your blog and web site, from what I can tell, not mention any uses of technology that you would like to see? Can you describe any protential plans to use technology to reduce costs or provide more benefits for the same price?
Georgy, evidence actually shows that if children use marijuana once a month from the age of 13, they will NEVER achieve their potential. How can you justify your stance on weed given this FACT ?
What do you think of illegal immigration in California? How do you think California should handle the budget demands imposed by it? And what do you think about companies in California out-sourcing high tech jobs to foreign countries and importing workers through the H2-1B Visa program in order to drive down wages in California?
Alright, you may know your stuff in the geek world, but California has some serious problems. I'm sure most questions will be tech related, and though technology is a huge part of today's world there are so many more important things out there. Do you really want to be the George W. Bush of California?
Carpe meam simiam!
In addition to being the co-founder of a storage software company and an avid dancer, what other qualifications and leadership experience do you have to politically lead the fifth largest economy of the world?
Speak truth to power.
How would you deal with this?
Obliteracy: Words with explosions
Georgy where do you stand on the environment ? After your President failed to endorse the Kyoto agreement, the US has done nothing but pollute the environment and show no sign of taking the responsibility for this attitude. Global warming is showing signs all around us and still your nation does nothing. You have no public transport strategy, you all use your gas-guzzling cars to drive small distances, and your policy on clean energy is non-existent.
Can you make the difference and take a lead on these issues to generate more respect for your country ?
Will you take a tougher stance on the Microsoft case and not sell out for a pithy few million? (that's right, I'm bashing!) Also, what is your stance on privacy? Spam? RIAA Maddness? And a free 54Mbps Wifi network for the *entire* state, every last square inch of it!
Why can't all fpga/microcontroller manufacturers just release free optimizing compilers???
California appears to have the highest concentration of techinically literate people in the USA. How would you view the proposition of retooling California to only use Free Software in all (feasible, would need to be phased in) areas where the state has control (as opposed to private companies)? I would view this as having the advantage of reducing funds leaving the state and also developing a California based expertise which could be exported worldwide in helping other states (be they US style or actual countries) in converting to using Free Software. Each region which converts to free software is breeding an workforce for the future, both for its own needs and as an exportable commodity, would you like to take colifornia into the lead here by leveraging its already substantial technoligical know-how?
Never underestimate the dark side of the Source
1. If you won the election, would you honestly push for a 100-square-mile surface area solar panel array? Do you have any idea of the amount of expense, energy, and emissions required to make that amount of solar panels?
2. Why do you continually attack Bush and supposed administration policies in all of your literature? Wouldn't it make more sense to discuss the intentions of candidates who are actually running for governor of California? If the current governor of California cannot prevent Bush from influencing the state, how would you?
...
Being a Governor in california may give you the possibility for soem unique control over technical jobs and the tendency to outsource those. Also, I would imagine a governership could eventually lead to a congressional seat.
That being said, what would you do to help stem the tide of hi tech jobs leaving our country as Governor, and what would you try to do if you were eventually elected to congress?
I'm Brazilian, and we have a lot of parties. Many of them ally in majoritarian elections, but it's still common to have 3 or 4 major party candidates, and a few minor party candidates in any election for mayor, governor or president. Some of them publically recognize they don't stand a chance, but still want to participate in the electoral process to defend their ideas in a democratic way, as it's their right. Do you honestly believe in your candidature, or you are there just to make a point?
Greetings from Brazil. The forthcoming Californian election is drawing a lot of attention here. We are curious to see what's going to happen. =)
My neighbor's
Your site is slashdotted to all heck right now, but on the pages that I did manage to load, I didn't see anything about California's education system. Last I heard (which was a few years ago) we were ranked 49th in the country (thank you, Louisiana!). I don't have any children, but my friends at work do, and my sister is a teacher (on emergency credentials), and the stories they tell about California's schools are frightening.
As governor, this is one of the areas that you would have a lot of control over. What are your ideas for improving our state's schools?
Who would your ideal opponents in a televised debate be?
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
Does Georgy support the state government adopting the use of open source software and operating systems like Linux?
As we've seen in the lead-up to the Iraq conflict, people seem to feel very strongly about celebrities becoming involved in divisive political issues.
Given that it is likely much of Arnold Schwarzenneger's electoral support will come simply from his celebrity status, do you feel it would be okay for people to vote for you simply because you are beautiful ( *and smart!* )?
Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
Hi Georgy;
Can you do a little thought experiment for us? I think it would provide some insight into your understanding of your opponents and the issues.
I want you to play devil's advocate for a moment, and imagine yourself in turn as the candidate for the Democrats, Republicans, and Green Party. What would your issues be, and what tactics would you use to gain the governorship?
Probably a tall order, but I think it would really highlight your grasp of the issues and political climate.
...
The vulnerability of electronic voting systems to fraud has been discussed in tech circles but has caught the attention of almost no one in political office. For instance Riverside County and other counties now use electronic voting systems and Los Angeles County, among others, is poised to implement electronic voting. It appears that the county politicians are ignoring the issues of fraud and hacking. Then there is the issue if the machines can be configured to handle 150+ candidates.
What is your opinion of the suitability of electronic voting in California elections?
Nate
What would you, as Governor, do to help the economy recover and grow? What would you do to restart California's lead as the technology capital of the world and recreate the jobs that have been lost in recent years?
At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
What is your plan to deal with the current budgetary mess in California? To what extent do you plan on raising taxes and/or cutting services? And which programs will be cut and where?
I realize that these are specific and uncomfortable questions to ask, but California is in the midst of a major budgetary crisis, and any Governor will have to make specific and unpleasant choices to deal with it. So far, the answer the current Governor has chosen has been to pick and blame political opponents.
While your interest in green energy is laudible, let's be honest here, these technologies are not as mature and cost effective as traditional power generation means.
As governor, will you insist on clean energy at the risk these never get built or are built in an insufficient number, or would you be willing to compromise and build fossil and/or nuclear plants to ensure that the 2001 fiasco which cost CA billions is never repeated?
By reading this sig, you agree to the terms of my sig license.
Transport is one of the biggest issues in the state today. California stands as an example to the rest of the world not only of how NOT to move people from A to B, but how not to position A and B in the first place.
Short-sighted planners still cling to the unbelievably outdated notion that you can reduce traffic congestion by building more roads and making existing ones wider. Are you aware of the phenomenon of 'induced traffic' or will you allow this destructive and self-defeating practice of runaway road-building to continue unopposed? Will you strive to overcome the political wrangling that has hampered efforts to build a European style high-speed rail link from San Francisco to Los Angeles?
Single-use zoning laws have led to the vandalism of California's built environment. It has transformed her 'cites' into a vast, ugly sprawl of strip malls, gas stations and fast food drive-thrus. Building a pedestrian-friendly city is well nigh illegal in most places. Will you speak out against the malling and sprawling of the west and advocate the growing North American movement known as 'new urbanism?'
Thanks.
My apologies if this question is asked above in non-modded-up comments. I like it, though:
How do you feel about the possibility that you as a candidate (as well as those that vote for you) could be tarred with the same brush as Nader in 2000, namely, that you 'gave' the recall election to someone distasteful to the accuser, merely by being less distasteful but still participating? What do you think this says about democracy in California and the US when so many individual candidates could be similarly accused?
In California (can't speak for the other states, but I believe they're similar), the Lieutenant Governor is elected separately from the Governor. Back when Davis (a Democrat) was the Lt. Gov. for Pete Wilson (a Republican), the Democrat-strong Legislature would pass bills when Wilson was out of state (vacations, meeting business leaders, participating in meetings with other governors) so Davis could sign them into law. It kept Wilson in the state often, his out-of-state schedule usually closely synchronized with the Legislature's schedule.
This is opposite to how presidents and vice presidents are elected, which is as a part of the same ticket.
You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
Also, do you feel that the elected governor is assisted or confounded by the slew of ballot initiatives that come through every election cycle? If elected, would you seek to expand this participatory government because it empowers the people, keep it at the same level, or rein it in because it makes effective long-term strategy so difficult?
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
The main reason that immegration from Mexico is hard to legally is because people need the labor to be cheap.
If they are legals then they can form unions, demand minimum wage and basic safety measures on the job.
We wouldn't want that now would we?
So if you agree that immegrants keep America strong then maybe you should be pushing for relaxed immegration laws instead of being a racist and blame brown foreigners for ruining America.
(Last time I checked most of America's problems actually came from greedy old white men...)
It wasn't some evil mexican laborer who was causing the energy crisis in California, it was a bunch of patriotic all american white folks.
How does it feel being called the 'Geek Candidate' for California Governor?
-Valiss
One thing that is interesting to note here is the fact that the massive state budget gaps come not from poor management, but from reduced consumer spending.
The states made a big mistake when they started using sales taxes to pad their incomes. This is one of the key problems with a national sales tax to replace the income tax, a system that keeps being promoted.
When spending is high, the ecconomy is good and the sales tax revenues are quite large. The state runs a surplus and the voters demand increased services.
Then spending declines and just when people get laid off, at the time when demand of services is highest, the state has to make dramatic cuts that prove to be unpopular.
The message? Sales taxes are a bad idea.
One idea I like is the circulation fee system. Instead of rewarding the non-use of money it rewards trading it quickly, thus creating a much higher amount of consumer spending, the engine that makes money powerful.
Will you uphold and defend the federal Constitution as written and not enact, enforce or fund any rule or regulation, federal or State, that violates that Constitution?
That means that the illegal aliens must be deported. That the employers that hire them must be fined. That they cannot get government services or benefits.
In California, the police can take Mexican consular IDs or in registering children for school, issuing drivers licenses, etc.
Now, if you disgree with the immigration policy, you don't break the law. If you don't think a speed limit is bad, that does not exempt you from speeding tickets when you are going 50mph in a school zone.
Fight Spammers!
I love your campaign -- at least at first blush. Then I started thinking -- what happens if 5,000 young, liberal, Democratic voters actually vote for you? It doesn't seem at all outside the realm of possibility. Do you worry that you might be pulling support from a legitimate liberal candidate and throwing the election to someone like Arnold? Nader's candidacy seemed like fun and games until someone (namely 226 servicemen and women so far and counting) got hurt. Not trying to be heavy-handed, but is this something you considered? As election day comes closer, would you consider endorsing Davis or some other lefty candidate?
Er... I suppose I wasn't clear. You're right, of course. That's the reason I mentioned Germany's *constructive* vote of no confidence. In Germany, you essentially elect the new Chancellor as a part of the vote of no confidence. If no replacement can be found (by majority, IIRC), the current Chancellor stays.
"Times have not become more violent. They have just become more televised."
-Marilyn Manson
Ms. Russell,
You are being positioned, at least in this community, as the "geek candidate". (I'll omit the quotes from now on, and hope you're not offended by the word geek.)
It seems to me that a female geek holds the best hope for getting a technologically-competent politician into an important office, because female geeks escape from many of the negative stereotypes that plague male geeks in the public perception.
How do you think being a female geek vs a male geek affects your chance to win the election? (Better? Worse? Non-issue?) Along the same lines, do you believe being female in general will make the election easier or more difficult for you?
The reason I asked this question is this -- over half of the replies to this interview post have referred to you as "he", "him", or otherwise as a male, when even the short article blurb clearly indicated you were a "she".
What is your view on Affirmative Action?
As a college student in the UC system, but a politically rightist town (LA), I hear a lot of different views on the subject. I am also, however, a white guy that grew up in an upper-middle class neighborhood. Now, I'm all for diversity, but do you think affirmative action is really the right way to get diversity into schools? If so, why? If not, what do you propose? Would you try to do anything to solve racial diversity issues at a lower level than that of the university?
Others have responded already, but I'd like to also point out that *originally* the Vice President was not the President's right-hand man; he was the runner up of the presidential election. It was the 12th Amendment that changed it to the current system.
:)
I personally also think the 12th Amendment should be repealed.
"Times have not become more violent. They have just become more televised."
-Marilyn Manson
It's very difficult to find a person holding a public office who isn't 40+. From your picture I judge you are well below that. For most people, age symbolic of maturity, wisdom, and life experience. Do you think your age might be a problem in appealing to the constituency?
The constituency aside, should you get voted governor, do you believe the older California lawmakers will take you seriously? How do you intend to gain their respect?
-R
The part where the character of our nation does not allow that we restrict the immigration of persons.
As John Adams said:
"Yes, they are citizens. They are people and they are here. If there is any other requirement, I've never heard of it."
As I understand it, the date of the election is still up in the air. Whenever that occurs, the winner will still face the general election in 2006. That gives the winner roughly two years (barring a second recall) in which to work before facing another election.
Is that really a sufficient amount of time to repair (or make a positive dent in) California's budget problems? If so, how do you plan on doing that?
From a procedural standpoint, the law may be poorly written, but it is fair. If a majority of the folks want him out, he should be out.
Further, he wasn't ELECTED by a majority (48%, in fact), why should his replacement be required to get a majority?
The candidates ALREADY face a more difficult standard to get him OUT of office (majority vs. plurality) than it took him to get in. If you look at it honesty, the recall procedure is slanted IN FAVOR OF the incumbent, not against.
The recall and the subsequent election are separate issues and should be treated as such.
California is considered the capitol of the content industry (RIAA, MPAA) and the technology industry (Silicon Valley). These two industries are at odds with each other over intellectual propery rights issues. They are probably also a large chunk of California's huge economy. Do you think you can balance the needs/wants of both lobbying groups in a manner that will be beneficial to both industries?
If so how?
I realize that this is mostly a federal matter as far as the law and politics go but there are many that believe that California kind of sets the standard for the rest of the nation to follow(at least economically and politically) so I am intersted in your ideas on this matter.
I swear PowerPoint is going to be the downfall of higher education in western society.
I agree with this guy in full. California's capital flight is a direct result of their "oh damn those rich people" attitude.
Think about it, why do we tax the rich? Is it about punishing them for being rich, or trying to get whatever out of them they're willing to pay? Because if it's the ladder, California should really reexamine their tax system.
Over taxation leads to less revenue and hindered economies. It's a lose lose situation, unless you just really hate the rich.
I fear nothing but my government. Vote Libertarian.
You are 26. I am a couple weeks short of being 26. Most of my friends are about the same age as you and I. What in your 26 years of life makes you think you are qualified to be the governor of the State of California? I can only assume you have never held any elected or appointed office in any segment of government since I didn't see it listed in my reading of your website.
Given your presumed lack of experience and ability to hold the office you are seeking, who will you be appointing as your advisors upon becoming governor and what are their qualifications?
Okay given that, a big reason for voter apathy is often that people can't see any difference between the candidates. In holland we got about a dozen parties withabout half of them big enough to make a difference. In america it is only 2. However in this election you have a couple of dozen candidates and not even the greatest cynic can claim they are spouting the same old lines.
Also a cause for voter apathy is said to be that the voter can't see what the goverment is doing. Well with all the brownouts and the enron/worldcom trouble I should this could have woken the voter up that they need a good goverment to represent them.
Nonetheless on youre weblog you say that you expect the turnout to be oven lower then when gray davis was elected. If all this can't get the voter intrested then what can? You now got superstars, nutcases, pornstars and (sorry about this) you and yet you expect even fewer people to give a damn. Is democarcy ultimatly always going to go down to a minority voting or is it perhaps time to introduce mandatory voting?
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Are you in favor of making borders more accessable?
Are you in favor of eliminating Green Cards in favor of blanket Citizinship?
Since you read Slashdot, you're aware of the general interests of most of its readers. Where do you stand on issues of particular interest to any California resident Slashdot voters e.g. Microsoft, copyright, SCO, censorship v freedom of speech etc.
:-)
You may make your answer to this question as long as you wish...
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
- The Oracle fiasco cost the state millions of dollars.
- Davis said in his "State of the State" address that if he found that the electric companies were ripping us off by shutting down power stations to artificially raise prices then he'd take over the stations via emminent domain. Sure enough, the electric companies were found to be manipulating the prices. Rather than fullfilling his promise he formed a 5 year plan to buy electricity at a high rate and to pay for it from the general fund thereby bankrupting the state. That plan cost us billions of dollars.
- On top of all that he increased spending by (depending which source you cite) 30% to 48%. Government spending increased roughly twice the rate of the population increase. And now he tells us the only way we can get out of this mess is to cut police, fire, and school budgets.
- Because of all this our bonds have been downgraded to one level above "junk".
So we know why he's a bad governor. What we want to know, what we need to know, is how do you propose to fix this mess? Don't tell me how other people have failed, don't give me some generic line about how "special interest is running this state". Give me specific points of your plan to fix our financial problems.Obviously Davis played a significant role in leading California to this mess. He didn't have to approve the bloated budgets the legislature sent his way (both parties are complicit on this and the new budget is only going to make matters worse since it actually increased spending). Davis probably shouldn't have created all those new government positions for his cronies.
How would you have handled the state's budgets? Since you were in the tech industry, would you have been more likely to be aware of the impending collapse or would industry optimism led you to spend as Davis did?
Since it most likely you wont be able to match campaing fun Schwarzenegger or Huffington will you use Meetup.com or Slashdot.org to build avast network of volunteers?
Would you switch emphasis to the technology, economics and business regulaton? Would you feel that your business experience with in the California tech market be a key distinction against the other canidates?
Would you be willing to use the slashdot effect
on the next major internet poll to boost name recognition?
How do you plan to govern a people whose beliefs (based on past initiative success) strongly differ from yours on "the death penalty", and "de-criminalization of drug use".
- High Tech workers, please say NO to Union Carpenters, their Union sees fit to control our compensation.
Half the people in the US are in jail on drug-related charges. How much money could California save by releasing all persons convicted of non-violent drug offenses (e.g. possession)? Enough to balance the budget? The governor has the power to pardon any convict; does she also have the power to declare a blanket amnesty?
"Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney
"The truth is, even with the billions in painful cuts already made, California is unable to make the cuts necessary to truly balance the budget. This situation is not new; Republican Governor Pete Wilson faced similarly staggering budget problems when he took office over a decade ago. His solution was to not only cut spending, but to increase revenues by raising rates on the top tax bracket by about one percent. Like Bill Clinton and George Bush Sr., Wilson raised rates on top brackets and the economy soared. He recognized what an impediment to economic recovery the budget crisis was, and stayed honest with Californians about the decisions that had to be made."
Currently, the wealthies people pay the highest percentage of their income in taxes. Yet your solution to the budget crisis seems to be to tax these people even more? Why do you feel it is ethical to unfairly tax the most productive members of Califoria society, to solve California's budget problems, but are unwilling to make the average person take some responsibility for providing tax revenue for service rendered by California govt. for all Californians? As a practical matter, do you think this solution will drive these people away from California, and create an even greater budget problem, rather than solving it?
Vote for Pedro
Because 50.1% voted to boot Davis?
How is it any less democrat that a majority vote should bar a person from office than that a majority vote should elect someone to office?
Remember, the ballot has TWO questions on it. One recall yes/no and one for the replacement candidate. They're separate votes--on the same ballot strictly for convenience--and no one is being disenfranchised here.
Given that your may be considered an outsider and your chances of being elected are not that great. We are more likely to find out if you are serious in really helping California recover or if you are just a publicity hound looking for attention to further your own agenda, like so many others in this election, by actually not being elected. As this would show whether you are serious by your actions following the elections. Having a crystal ball would be nice (anyone having one please let us know). It would be helpful to know how you would respond to a failure to be elected before the election in judging how serious/determined you are and your ability to handle defeat which you will see many times win or lose. Assuming that you don't win;
a) What do you plan to do following the election?
b) How do you intend to further your cause?
c) How do you intent to help California if your not elected?
d) Are you planning to stay in politics and to run in another election?