Jim Gilliam backed an idea we had to make finding out what you could run for and how to get on the ballot. It developed into the free site runforoffice.org
He was brilliant, fierce, opinionated, and amazing to work with.
Ha! Thank you for mentioning that. There is an Open Data org in Canada that we've been working with, and we are also assembling the GIS data for the UK. Hope to have it within the year.
Yes to all of this. There are algorithms to be applied, we just need more/better data to fine tune them. Of course, it's politics, so it's more art than science, but there is a lot to be uncovered with patterns. Great thought.
Yes, you're correct. Attorney General, Treasurer positions, Law Enforcement positions, and a few others do require advanced degrees. We have plans to include that in our data. Thanks.
My comment is not a criticism at all! There is a point of diminishing returns on such projects where a pedantic correction can require loads of work. Great work.
A similar-concept project was posted here on HN this month:
The purpose of the project is to do the local offices. If we don't have any for your county/town, it's just a matter of us not having volunteers for there. Local offices, in my perspective, is where all the opportunity and value is at.
Dang. That's not the intention. We do have limited coverage regarding the local offices. We have done 50 of the largest counties in the US, which totals coverage of about 85 million Americans, however, that's only a quarter of the population.
I couldn't agree more. You said it perfectly. The federal offices and state offices, all that stuff is easy. The hard work, and where the opportunity is, is figuring out the obscure Water Districts, Port Commissions, and similar positions. Very winnable, and they create momentum.
He was brilliant, fierce, opinionated, and amazing to work with.
He will be dearly missed.