John Sutter, “Cities embrace mobile apps, ‘Gov 2.0′,” CNN.com:
Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist and a customer-service guru, was riding on a public train in San Francisco, California, recently when something common but annoying occurred: The railcar filled with people and became uncomfortably hot. …
Newmark pulled out his iPhone, snapped a photo of the train car… »

Apps for Democracy was the brainchild of former Washington, D.C., chief technology officer Vivek Kundra, who joined the Obama administration this year to become the nation’s first federal CIO.
“The government doesn’t have a monopoly on the best ideas. We look forward to unleashing the creativity of the American people to show us what is possible… »

Inspired by President Obama’s Open Government Initiative, the D.C. Digital Public Square, and other developments around the country, Mayor Gavin Newsom made public access to electronic government data matter of official policy by issuing an executive directive on open government to all agencies (pdf). The directive is reprinted here with emphasis added to key points:
Executive… »

It’s an accepted truth that a healthy democracy requires citizens who participate in the civic life of their communities, and who engage with government institutions. But while civic participation is vital for a healthy democracy, it’s an inadequate prescription.
Government institutions also have to effectively engage and respond to citizen concerns, and by extension, government institutions… »

Stat-driven performance management isn’t just about getting potholes fixed. It’s also about improving the quality of life.
The Results Minneapolis process benchmarked lead poisoning in children, and measured a dramatic 86 percent reduction in children with elevated blood levels through targeted lead abatement activities.
Yes, the lower lead poisoning numbers are presented in very attractive… »

The San Jose Mobile City Hall was launched on December 15th as a free download from the Apple iTunes store.
“We need to embrace emerging technologies in order to more efficiently serve our residents at a time when our budgets are dwindling and deferred infrastructure maintenance costs are skyrocketing,” said San Jose Councilman Pete Constant.
A caution… »

A mayoral forum hosted by the Pelican Institute, now available on… »

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It might be an exaggerated claim by WDSU to suggest that the candidates “squared off” at the mayoral forum hosted at Xavier University last night. The short time limit for candidates to respond doesn’t offer them sufficient time to develop their ideas, nor does it allow the public to appreciate the depth of candidate’s platforms…. »

Hosted by WVUE reporter, Lee Zurik. The District A City Council candidates are Jay Batt, Virginia Blanque, Suzie Guidry, and Fred Robertson.
Candidate messages consistent with a NolaStat reform:

Virginia Blanque offered that a new police chief should exercise the best practices learned from other cities in combatting the crime problem in New Orleans, link strategies to… »