Saturday, January 16, 2016

Govt Access Project - Disrupting City Hall Darkness

After collecting lots of calendar data from public servants of all stripes, I've started a new site widening government transparency in San Francisco and beyond - the Govt Access Project.

Please make a donation today via our IndieGogo page or PayPal and support this valuable sunshine effort.

Check out the growing amount of calendars at the Govt Access Project and tell your social media friends about it. Thanks much!

Here's our fundraising appeal explaining our goals:



All elected San Francisco officials,from the Board of Supervisors to City department chiefs, thanks to open government laws, must make their work calendars public but no statute mandates posting the calendars online.
Not a single Supervisor or department chief posts his or her calendar on the web. That must change.
The Govt Access Project will enhance transparency expanding the public's access to govt information, making our leaders fully accountable to voters and taxpayers by showing how they spend their time, issues on their agenda and who they meet with.
GAP needs funding to create a calendar database just a few clicks away for the public and press to access. We're prepared to upload dozens of calendars in our possession.
Here's how GAP will disrupt City Hall's data darkness:
Phase 1 - Gather and store calendar data from Supervisors and other public servants, solicit donations and support: Now till January 15.
Phase 2 - Standardize monthly requests to City Hall officialsfollow-up when records are withheld, late or incomplete, develop layout and navigation of database site: Now and ongoing.
Phase 3 – Launch the site with Supervisors' calendar data on January 18; other officials' calendars published January 25.
Phase 4 – Keep calendars flowing from City Hall and quickly posted to our database, raise funds to sustain the project: February onward.
This valuable sunshine effort is a time-intensive project. Funds raised go toward a much-needed computer hardware upgrade and technical assistance, already costing us $1,000, high speed web access, time spent requesting and archiving calendar data.
With your contribution, GAP will deliver enhanced open government and democracy in San Francisco. Tell your friends to also donate, please!
Here is the list of thirty-four public servants whose calendar data will be collected and shared:
Board of Supervisors:
Avalos, John
Breed, London
Calvillo, Angela (Clerk of the Board)
Campos, David
Cohen, Malia
Christensen, Julie (Term ended in November)
Farrell, Mark
Kim, Jane
Mar, Eric
Peskin, Aaron (Term started in December)
Tang, Katy
Yee, Norman
Other Elected Officials and Department Chiefs:
Arts Commission, Tom DeCaigney
Assessor-Recorder, Carmen Chu
Budget and Legislative Analyst, Harvey Rose
City Administrator, Naomi Kelly
City Attorney, Dennis Herrera
City Controller, Ben Rosenfield
Department of Public Health, Barbara Garcia
Department of Public Works, Mohammed Nuru
District Attorney George Gascon
Ethics Commission, LeeAnn Pelham
Fire Department, Joanne Hayes-White
Mayor Ed Lee
Planning Department, John Rahaim
Police Department, Greg Suhr
Office of Citizen Complaints, Joyce Hicks
Recreation and Parks, Phil Ginsburg
San Francisco Airport, John L. Martin
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Ed Reiskin
San Francisco Unified School District, Richard Carranza
Sheriff, Ross Mirkarimi (Term ends in December)
Sheriff, Vicky Hennessy(Term begins in January)
Treasurer, Jose Cisneros
Vice Mayor, Steve Kawa

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