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.
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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.