Photo by Ryan Resella
SFOpen 2011 brought together 9 of the major San Francisco mayoral candidates last week to discuss technology and government, but it also put on display the reason I love the open government community so much.
Friends from all around the Bay Area (and even the East Coast) came together at Automattic to support and watch the first ever mayoral forum on open government, civic technology and public innovation and, despite the political nature of the event, there was much love in the room.
Most of our interaction with government tends to be negative. We get taxed or ticketed. We fight it and complain about how broken it is. We see it as a faceless bureaucracy without realizing good people inside and out are doing something to change this.
Many of those people were in that room last week and were excited to see that a simple civic agenda based on empowering citizens and addressing the basic tenets of open government (transparency, collaboration, participation) will trump politics every time.
SFOpen would’ve never happened without Brian Purchia, Change.org, GAFFTA, Automattic and Code for America, all of whom helped make its execution flawless.
I’d like to especially thank our moderator Mitch Kapor and the candidates themselves for sharing their ideas and showing a willingness to learn about an area that’s new to many:
- Michela Alioto-Pier
- John Avalos
- David Chiu
- Bevan Dufty
- Tony Hall
- Dennis Herrera
- Joanna Rees
- Phil Ting
- Leland Yee
Thanks again to everyone who supported and was excited about SFOpen from the beginning. I’ve said this already, but I especially appreciate Brian Purchia‘s leadership and hope one day he himself runs for mayor.
I’m proud of San Francisco and its open government community, and I’m hopeful this may be the beginning of a new conversation in politics, not just here, but everywhere.
Press
- SFist: SFist Attends: Last Night’s SF Mayoral Open Government Forum
- TechPresident: Tonight, a Mayoral Debate on Open Government in San Francisco
- SFAppeal: Mayoral Candidates Cordial During Debate On Best Ways To Use Tech To Improve SF
- San Francisco Examiner: LIVE COVERAGE: San Francisco mayoral candidate debate
- SF Gate: Mayoral candidates: Internet access for everyone!
- Huffington Post: Open for Government: San Francisco Mayoral Candidates to Debate Tech and Transparency
- SF Gate: Open season
- Politico: OPEN GOVERNMENT MOVEMENT GOES LOCAL
- TechPresident: In San Francisco, Open Government Becomes a Campaign Issue
Gov 2.0 Radio
Post-SFOpen interview I did with Adriel Hampton and Allison Hornery:
[audio:http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gov20/2011/06/20/civic-technology-issues-explode-onto-the-sf-scene]Video
Recorded livestream:
Elsewhere
- SFOpen 2011 Flickr pool
- #sfopen hashtag on Twitter
As part of 
SFOpen 2011 will be moderated by Mitch Kapor. Kapor is a pioneer of the personal computing revolution and has been at the forefront of information technology for 30 years as an entrepreneur, software designer, angel investor, and activist. He is widely known as founder of Lotus Development Corporation and the designer of Lotus 1-2-3, the “killer application” which made the personal computer ubiquitous in the business world in the 1980s. Other organizations in which Mr. Kapor has played an important role include UUNET (founding investor), the first successful independent commercial Internet Service Provider; the Electronic Frontier Foundation (co-founder), which protects freedom and privacy on the Internet; Real Networks (founding investor), which pioneered the use of streaming media over the Internet; the Mozilla Foundation (founding Chair), maker of the open source web browser Firefox; and Linden Research (founding investor, Board Chair), the creator of the first successful open virtual world, Second Life. 
“For open government to mature, San Francisco needs a mayor who speaks the language of the tech community and believes deeply that technology can engage a sometimes disconnected public – and make government work better in lean budget times. As the former founder of a small technology company, I am uniquely suited to be a mayor who makes San Francisco the undisputed leader on open government.”
“More than ever, trust in government is built upon openness, transparency and accountability. As Director of Neighborhood Services and Supervisor, I have honored that trust. You have my pledge to be the most open, transparent and accessible mayor in our city’s history.”
“We must take on the powerful special interests that have undue influence at City Hall. The best way is to have an open and transparent government that is unafraid of scrutiny, because it is always striving to serve its people. All city departments must have sunshine policies and public input.”
“Open Government – transparency, participation and collaboration – is essential to San Francisco’s success as a modern city. Transparency ensures honesty and trust in our system of governance; participation recognizes the essential nature of our democracy and incredible creative input of our residents; and collaboration means effective governance – sharing resources, ideas and best practices with federal, state and other local agencies and the private sector to ensure San Francisco is a city that works.”
“An effective government must clearly communicate its goals and actions. I support an open and transparent government that gives people with good ideas the tools they need to actively participate in the dialogue and move our city forward. I will create an environment at City Hall that requires transparency and encourages innovation and new ideas.”
“Better policy is too important to leave to politicians alone. True Gov 2.0 must go beyond press releases and change how we elect leaders and how we hold them accountable. That’s what Phil Ting’s www.ResetSanFrancisco.org is all about – unlocking the power of User Generated Government to change how we campaign and how we govern.”
“Dubbed “Senator Sunshine” by California Aware, Senator Yee is a staunch advocate for government transparency. His legislation includes; the Higher Education Accountability Act , whistleblower and student speech protections; requirements for UC and CSU auxiliaries/foundations to adhere to the public records act; open court filings, and strengthening of the Brown Act. He has been awarded the Freedom of Information Award from the California Newspaper Publishers Association, Beacon Award by the First Amendment Coalition, Freedom of Information Award by the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists, Sunshine Award by the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists.”
“I believe in Open Government, not just for Supervisor’s meetings and public records, but in Open Government that harnesses the new ideas and creative energy of citizens to solve problems. The more information we can make available, the more San Franciscans can participate and help find solutions those in government haven’t yet found.”
