This document argues that more software developers should run for public office by highlighting the similarities between being a politician and being a developer. It notes that while there are over 1.3 million software developers in the US, very few hold public office. The document suggests that developers are well-suited for political roles as both developers and politicians must balance positions, seek compromise, communicate effectively, and be transparent while advocating passionately for their users or constituents. It also draws a parallel between legislation and source code.
I’m here today with a simple idea. Software developers in public office could be a good thing for all of us and maybe you should be one of them. But to talk about that we must first talk about THE GOVERNMENT.
A single evil entity that grows and consumes and gives little back. Simultaneously diabolical and incompetent. At least this is how we talk about government. Casting it as a thing is a way of avoiding dealing with the real complexity of governance and challenges we face.
In reality government is a complex system with thousands of laws and people working to implement it. This is the platform, the operating system, upon which our lives are lived. And thankfully our operating system’s architects designed it for refactoring
There’s wonderful new energy around gov 2.0 a movement to create a more agile and streamlined government through technology and citizen participation. A government of real people that works WITH you not FOR you. Talks TO you not AT you.
So citizen developers and others are working hard on this vision on many fronts but there’s an obvious gap and it’s a mistake. More than ever before governing requires technology decisions and we must have a seat at the table to ensure that sane technology decisions are made.
There are 1.3 million devs in the US and zero in public office. But do we have the necessary skills? Yes we do. This is a stereotype.
Clay Johnson formerly of Sunlight wrote a blog post on this topic and met a shockingly negative response from Andrea Di Maio at Gartner filled with stereotypes like this. In trying to discourage developers from running Andrea offered this definition of political skill.
Read it. Or take a breather.
That’s funny… Because this plus coding skill is exactly how I’d describe my ideal developer. I’d hire this person in a heartbeat because building software is as much a process of negotiation and collaboration as it is a process of actually writing code.
Oops. See developers build systems that have to work in the real world and solve problems for real people. It is the human interactions where software finds it’s value and defines it’s success or failure. And Law has similar requirements.
Legislation is code. Software and law are both set’s of rules that serve people. Both must be robust and flexible in the face of changing conditions and system failures.
And law like software has bugs. But when government has bugs consequences are severe. people get sold as property, or are denied the vote, or stand in bread lines, or are separated from their partners, or people die. So fixing government bugs is deeply important work.
Developers are innovators. And being innovators they understand what incentives are needed to produce the technology to solve our greatest problems.
Remember the healthcare bill and how hard it was to lift? Was I the only one thinking… why don’t they have decent source control? It should be EASY to read a bill in context. Developer’s fix broken processes and they ask for forgiveness later instead of permission first.
And in the executive branch there are great parallels for IT professionals, web developers, and software consultants who have to take programs and translate them into working solutions. So the best of us have the skills. Is anyone doing it?
Sean Tevis is an information architect who ran for the Kansas House of Representatives in 2008. You can seen in his comic he lost by just 425 votes. He’s running again but we need more than just one person.
So if like sean and like me you spend a lot of time down modding politicians maybe you should run. If like me in frustration you’ve ever spent an evening trying to figure out a tufte style lie factor for politicians or the big O notation for getting a bill passed through congress
Then maybe you should consider it. So here’s what I propose. Move the run for office idea out of the daydream segment of your mind and into the possible segment. That’s it. Just a start. Because we need developers to run for public office.
Whether that’s federally where we face deeply important regulation and security issues or California where we face a crushing inability to pass a budget, or in your local city council it doesn’t matter. Because at all levels we need the best developers and hackers and makers and smart energetic people like all of you here today to refactor our system.
And I’m confident that one day I will have the great pleasure of voting for one of you. Thank You.
