The Blog Party

there was an article on the news about municipal wi-fi in Alexandria, Virginia. Looking it up on the internet (duh!) I came across this article in Forbes that has a pretty good overview of some municipal wi-fi initiatives from Orlando (didn’t work) to Philadelphia (successful).

The big telecom lobbies are trying to kill it, but I think municipal wi-fi is coming sooner rather than later in lots of places. And as municipal wi-fi becomes an accepted notion so will municipal residential broadband. Eventually I think we will see either subsidized low-cost computers (something I’ve advocated for throughout this campaign) or even city government terminals in each house, like an e-mailbox. The residential terminal will serve as your gateway to city services and politics. You will be able to check it in the morning to see what important issues are going on in the neighborhood, when community board meetings are scheduled, whatever you need to know. That would be really cool and helpful. Then we’d be making some serious progress towards actual citizen involvement.

Last night I appeared on The John McMullen Show on Sirius Satellite Radio which was great fun. He’s a really good interviewer and we hit on a lot of substantive issues quickly and entertainingly. Hopefully I’ll do it again.

One of the topics that came up, or has been coming up for me throughout the campaign, is the idea of Civic Participation. Ten years ago a book came out called Bowling Alone that discussed the waning of civic participation and community involvement in American life. And while there are people that will argue both sides of the issue, I tend to think that civic involvement has decreased.

You can look at any number of factors - television, long work hours, commuting in cars - and deduce that people are not participating in community endeavors the way they did in the 50’s , 60’s or even 70’s. Also, we live in a culture where everyone - even adults - wants to be “cool” and nothing is less cool than joining some dorky political or civics club.

But I think if we want to overcome the sense of powerlessness and frustration in the face of corporate-funded government then we have to find new ways to engage. And that’s why I think the internet is so important. Friendster, Meetup, Dodgeball and other social networking sites have made it easier for people with common interests to find each other and meet offline. Blogging has made it easier for people to get their opinions out to a mass audience and to tell their stories - look at Girl Blog from Iraq, for example.

A large part of why I started to run for mayor and started The Blog Party is not to create a political action committee of bloggers, but to propound the idea that we can use the internet to increase government transparency and increase civic engagement. I dont’ have all the answers, mostly I have questions. But I believe that working together we can find new and better solutions.

Last night at Sunday Night FEVA I had a great opportunity to speak to people directly. Sarah Valentine interviewed me and we talked about Open Source Democracy, about the concerns of new yorkers and making government more accessible to average citizens. It was great.

Also - another campaign suggestion: get control of the MTA out of Pataki’s hands. Makes sense to me. There are a lot of local issues that are decided on the state level that is just absurd…

And finally, in conclusion, I know this sounds nit-picky, but I’m really into the idea of getting weekly e-mails from The Mayor telling me WHAT HE DID FOR ME that week. Or at least what he did at all. I think there’s so much talk about media bias - why not get your message directly to the voters via email? Tell me what you friggin’ did!?

Which is part of the campaign as well - if we created municipal broadband and free wi-fi throughout the city, we could also start a low-cost computer subsidy initiative. Every household should have a computer and internet access. And THEN we build a city-wide intranet so that each apartment or unit of housing has a steady stream of news and information about the current events and issues concering their neighborhood. Imagine that - important local news and information directly accessible by web portals in every house! I know the argument can be made that television does that. But Television is too mediated and too biased. Also, it is a one-way medium and limited by commercials and the need to be brief and entertaining. The web offers a chance to put substance back into politics and to bring it directly into everybody’s home.

I will post my pictures of The Mermaid Parade tonight, hopefully. I just got back from taking in some of the Gay Pride Parade, though I was there only briefly. Having attended the parade almost every year since 1996 and marched in it several times I have to say that I find it a little overwhelming and a lot too corporate. I remember my first Gay Pride Parade in Seattle in 1992 or 1993 and it was a very small, personal thing. A lot of fun, but it felt like a more immediate statement of personal pride and politics rather than a chance for beer sponsors and career politicians to court the queer demographic.

Speaking of which, the NY Times just published an article that Gay Marriage is an issue at Gay Pride Parade. If elected Mayor I will actively work to reform city laws to allow gay marriage and insure that all people of all sexual orientations are protected under the law. Marriage Equality isn’t Special Rights, it Equal Rights.

We have a LONG way to go, even in NYC, to change the bias in our culture about sexual orientation. I will fight that battle for everyone’s civil rights.

Just got back from campaigning at the beach and am ready to get back into the fray! Um. I’m not a good mathematician. I realize that $1 Million dollars per person times 280 Million people is, um, a lot. But still…I think the idea of creating an ownership society by creating trust funds for all U.S. citizens at birth is an interesting idea. And then truly investing in education so people are given the tools to manage and grow money throughout their lives. I call it the Level Playing Field Plan.

This isn’t a mayoral thing, its a national thing, obviously. But on a local level, as I wrote, I think we need to work on facilitating home ownership amongst the working class and making NYC less a “renter” culture and more an “owner” culture. But an owner culture where its not just people who are born rich and entitled who get a real stake in the city.

I believe in individual responsibility and initiative. I believe that people need to held accountable for what they do or don’t make of their lives. But I also think people should have a fair chance. And we live in a world where, despite all the talk, class and status matter.

We need to level the playing field and renew the social contract. We need to work together to create (or re-create) a civic culture and - eventually - a dynamic new national identity which truly lives up to our slogan “From Many, One” [E Pluribus Unum]

Okay, no, really. This is the last post for the weekend. But I was thinking about some of the reasons why people in NYC don’t feel involved in local politics. Apart from the fact that the system makes it difficult to get involved and even more difficult to get elected, I will venture to say that being a city of renters makes the population unstable. When George Bush talks about an ownership society (which, coming from him is a crock of b.s. just like the “clean air act” allows for more emissions and the “healthy forests act” promotes logging and clearcutting”) he is talking about investment in one’s own financial well-being. One of the most important things a person can do is own a home. At least that’s what we’re always being told. So as mayor I would work to increase home ownership by finding money and building home ownership programs for families. I would also start a program to help tenants unite to buy their buildings from their landlords and transform from renters to owners. Owning a home will give people a sense of stability, connection and empowerment that most NYC residents lack.

Speaking of an ownership society and George Bush. First off, if elected Mayor I would fight to get more Federal money into NYC and not let Bush off the hook for his 9/11 money pledges. This administration sees NYC - even with a Republican mayor - as a hotbed of pinko commie leftist jews and doesn’t want to support us. But we are the only city in America that the rest of the world likes and respects! We are the symbol of American Success to the rest of the world. And we should get more support from Washington. SECONDLY, I probably couldn’t do this as mayor but I would try and figure out how it could be done. Instead of reforming Social Security with private investment accounts that (theoretically) accrue wealth over your life span, I would come up with a program that would give every American, at birth, a million dollars.

According the the U.S. Census Population Projection Clock their are currently 296,386,517 Americans.

According to the “Cost of War” website - at the time of this writing the war has cost America $177,200,320,046 and rising by the second!! That is so much money!!

Think about it - for the cost of the War in Iraq, we could give every American nearly $1 million dollars. (I think. My math is really, really bad) And we could probably build a pretty substantial “managing your money” education and outreach program that would teach people who to manage their money and invest wisely. (not that I know how to do that. I’m b.r.o.k.e.) BUT STILL - if Bush really wants to make an ownership society why don’t you really give people something to own and educate them about how to stay an owner, not a slave. But that would never happen because he’s an incompetent lying, hypocrite.

Here are some suggestions I got via email, mostly about transportation and rail transit:

Additionally, most of us love the fact we don’t live in an automobile culture, and this is in some ways a big issue that’s taken for granted and rarely prioritized by candidates that appeal to either the very rich or very poor. And yet, the City was built because of its mass transit, which could be built even greater. What about demanding a perimeter rail through Brooklyn and Queens? Or at least expanding and connecting the G train to make it more comprehensive?

A proposal for a very slight easing of the smoking law allowing smoking rooms as long as no drinks or food are served would be a way to appeal to both hipsters and rich people who have private clubs. Also, why not allow new cigar bars? Why should they only be grandfathered? The campaign contributions from Cigar chomping upper east siders could be significant.

If elected Mayor I promise to send out a weekly e-mail newsletter to all New Yorkers who care to receive it. I’ll tell them the highlights of my week, who I met with and what projects I worked on, what I did for them and what’s on my mind. I think the citizens of New York deserve to be kept informed! I wouldn’t wait for press conferences or staged media opportunities - I wouldn’t rely on the media at all! I would go directly to the people! For instance, right now I would be e-mailing everyone about my waste management proposal that the City Council is not supporting for strictly political purposes. Supported by all the major environmental groups and reducing truck traffic, smoke, smog, pollution and stink in the city, it seems like a pretty good plan. But the City Council ain’t going for it.

If we had a relationship, if we talked on a regular basis, if you let us into the process, if you learned to listen and not just lecture, maybe we’d be there for you, Mr. Mayor. I’m the listening candidate. Me and New York, we’d get a groovy thing going. New York, I will take you out for a romantic dinner. I will serve you fine wine and good food. There will be candlelight and smarmy waiters. There will be Barry White. Or maybe Roxy Music’s Avalon. But it will be beautiful and I will love, baby, love you like you’ve never been loved for as long as you want my loving. And when we’re done, I will listen. I will not just roll over and start snoring. I will not steal the blankets. Oh no. I will cuddle you and whisper sweet nothings in your ear. And I will listen to you talk about whatever’s on your mind. I will hold you close and ease your mind, take away your fears, because baby, we’re in this together, I’m there for you, we’ve got a beautiful thing, and nothing can change that. Nothing.

As the campaign kicks into high gear this week, I wanted to briefly recapitulate my talking points:

Andy advocates for affordable housing, responsible development, environmental responsibility, better education, transportation alternatives and a better quality of life for all New Yorkers regardless of income, class or status. However, rather than dictating a platform solely from above, he believes that the platform should be built using an OPEN SOURCE DEMOCRACY model.

Blogparty.org/Andyformayor.org is an ongoing campaign blog which documents the campaign trail and also serves as evolving platform. Andy listens to the people in person or via e-mail and will post their ideas for government reform and city initiatives as they come in.

Working Together We Can Build a Better New York!

And remember, this Thursday, June 9 I’ll be holding a “meet the candidate” happy hour and petition-signing event at Morrisey Park on St. Mark’s near Ave. A. from 7-9 p.m. with Gur Tsabar, candidate for City Council, District 2. Gur’s campaign is dedicated to community service. I’ve met and talked with him and I think he’s a great candidate. Come and meet him for yourself!

See, the thing is, by and large, I think Mayor Mike has done a pretty good job. If it weren’t for this West Side Stadium and Olympics idiocy, I probably wouldn’t have my undies all in a bunch. But these big business development deals really cheese me off, especially when it is so darned expensive for regular folks to just live here!

Also, he’s really boring. As are all the democratic candidates. Rudy Giuliani was bossy and arrogant but he was colorful. You could really get worked up into a lather about him. Ed Koch - now that’s a colorful mayor! All these democrats we’ve got running for this election, one is more boring than the next! And let’s face it, New York is a showbiz town. Mayor Mike can always fall back on his money and people’s fantasies of his fabulous “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” beach houses - but he’s not exactly a barrel of laughs.

If elected, I promise to be as entertaining as possible. I will be your dancing monkey. I promise sex scandals, drunk driving (well, bike riding anyway) and fabulous city-wide parties for everybody! I will go on Oprah and talk about my painful childhood. And I will issue many official proclamations. (Although I hear they already do a LOT of that). I will dance at your wedding and kiss your baby. I will kiss your baby’s mother and father and grandfather. I will make embarassing Freudian slips on my weekly radio shows. Whatever I need to do to amuse you, I will do it.

Um. And - as much as I’m reluctant to do it - I would change the smoking ban. As a constantly-quitting and backsliding ex-smoker I’m glad that they’ve made it harder to light up when out and about. It is helping to save my life. BUT - I think that it should be a proprietor’s choice. We could offer incentives to remaining smoke-free and create very strict guidelines about ventilation and square footage and open air, etc…. but I think if someone wants to run a smoking establishment they should be allowed to, as long as they’re willing to pay for a license. Until the Feds criminalize tobacco the way they’ve criminalized other smokable substances, well, it should be allowed. I’m not saying I advocate smoking, I don’t, it’s nasty. But this is capitalism, baby.