All,

This thread caught my eye, since I have been active in local politics elsewhere, and am interested in the evolution of Sudo Room as a source of awesome.

As a bit of more relevant background, as a volunteer I helped the Portland organization Free Geek (similar to a hacker space, but focused on electronics recycling and..well, "helping the needy get nerdy") to get involved with and influence statewide policy on electronic waste recycling, and achieve a certain gravitas among various government circles. Today Free Geek is well known as a resource for knowledge and action relating to electronics recycling and community technology, and I think stuff like showing up to testify on legislation was a big key to that happening. I strongly believe it is important for organizations like Sudo Room to establish a voice in government and politics. I think this is a different,and maybe more appropriate, way of looking at it than choosing what candidates to support or oppose! This community has a wealth of knowledge about a variety of issues, and it's a good thing for that knowledge to be leveraged toward creating better laws and policies.

As of now, I am blissfully ignorant of the Oakland mayoral race, and of this particular candidate, so please don't take anything I say here as supporting or opposing any candidate.

Anyway: from what I read here, I think it would be great to invite the candidate to a roundtable discussion about tech policy! To avoid undesirable political associations, I'd do these things:

* Have one person, chosen for their neutrality, be the main point of contact, and perhaps a moderator. This probably should not be Eddan, but somebody who is not actively considering their vote yet.
* That person should contact the candidate and lay out some ground rules, among them being that this is NOT an event in which he should actively solicit support for his candidacy (no solicitation for money or votes) but rather an opportunity for him to gather information about what is of concern to his constituents.
* Establish a format that is guided by a Sudo Room person, in which the candidate participates; do not put him in the position of leading or shaping the discussion.
* Invite all, or at least several, candidates in the race to attend. Assure them that they will all have equal opportunity to address the crowd (like maybe a 5-10 minute talk about why they are running) but also reiterate that it's uncool to explicitly seek money or votes!

I hope this is helpful. I, for one, would love to see Sudo Room doing stuff like this!
Pete




On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 5:40 PM, Ryan Bethencourt <ryan.bethencourt@gmail.com> wrote:
Surely the act of Sudo Room existing is political, even if all of us don't fly under the same political flag we are all part of a movement, which makes us at least a political statement about shared resources, community and spaces?


On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 5:30 PM, Gregg Horton <greggahorton@gmail.com> wrote:
Involving sudoroom in politics sounds annoying, unless we decide to run mchawking for mayor.




On 10/1/13 5:27 PM, Marina Kukso wrote:
more on bryan parker: http://oaklandwiki.org/Bryan_Parker

learn about all the mayoral candidates: http://oaklandwiki.org/2014_Mayoral_Election


On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 5:18 PM, Eddan Katz <eddan@clear.net> wrote:
Following the Sudo Room norms of transparency - a value I hold in high regard and try to practice to the best of my ability - I am forwarding the invitation I received below from the Bryan Parker 2014 Oakland mayoral race campaign.

I have spoken with the campaign previously about the importance of tech policy to the future of economic development in downtown oakland. i have not contributed financially to the campaign - but feel comfortable sharing at this point that I am seriously considering supporting his candidacy. the fact that Bryan Parker made history by being the first candidate to crowdsource his initial fundraising seems like a significant acknowledgement and suggests to me an awareness of the power of peer production. 

they are interested in holding a roundtable discussion sometime within the next couple months on the subject of innovation and technology.
i mentioned sudo room as a potential venue for this event and was planning on trying to move this discussion forward at the event tonight.
it is my intention to make the case that oakland's edge could and should be openness and co-operation in the further development. 
i believe that there is a role municipal government can play in making this happen, in terms of both strategic investments and administrative regulations. 



From: "Bryan Parker" <host@invite.pingg.com>
Subject: Bryan Parker has invited you to First 700 Club Event
Date: September 25, 2013 5:21:47 PM PDT
To: eddan <eddan@eddan.com>
Reply-To: Bryan Parker <usm@brightlineconsulting.com>

Things not looking quite right? Try loading images in your email client. 

You have been invited by Bryan Parker to First 700 Club Event.


Dear Friends, 
  
It is with deep appreciation that I thank you for your generous support of my campaign for Mayor of Oakland 2014. I am honored to welcome you to our 700 Club, a network of high-profile leaders in business, tech and philanthropy who share our vision for moving Oakland Forward. You are invited to attend first of the 700 Club event-series at my home 59 Bay Forest Drive, Oakland on Tuesday, October 1, 2013 from 6:30-8:00 PM. 
  
This 700 Club event will feature special guest speaker Phil Tagami who will lead our discussion around the theme of safety in Oakland. Enjoy the culinary delights of Chef Robert Dorsey III and engage our collective expertise to improve our city. 
  
Please feel free to invite a like-minded friend to attend and share in advancing Oakland Forward. Please RSVP to Danielle.Bersen@gmail.com.
 

DATE

October 1st, 2013, 6:30pm

LOCATION

The home of Bryan Parker

ADDRESS

59 Bay Forest Drive, Oakland
 

This email has a unique link,
just for you!

Please do not forward it to others.
If you would like to invite others to the event 
send a link instead!
 
 
pingg.com, well sent

pingg corp. 36 East 20th Street, 
3rd Floor, New York, NY 10003

To block further invites from
this sender please unsubscribe.


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--
Ryan Bethencourt

Tel: (415) 825 2705

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