By: Phil Ting

SF Gov Fresh

San Francisco-based campaigns and causes are already among our nation’s leaders in adopting Web 2.0 tactics. But the real progress will come when these new technologies are used to do more than win elections – but when they are employed to improve the quality of our government and the quality of our lives.

That’s what ResetSanFrancisco.org is all about. We’re building a community of San Franciscans who believe that new technologies – and the tens of thousands of people they bring into the political process – can help make city government as creative and effective as the rest of our city.

We’ve already organized nearly 2,000 members – and we’ve brought together hundreds of dedicated San Franciscans at a series of brick and mortar events. If you are reading this in time – you can get a great idea of what we are all about at our Solutions Palooza event this Saturday April 16 at 11:00am at Horace Mann Middle School in the Mission. And if you miss that event, stay in touch at ResetSanFrancisco.org for our ongoing series of community events and our daily news, views and actions online.

From Web 2.0 to Gov 2.0

At Reset, we believe that something has been missing from the political and policy debate – real data. And we believe tens of thousands of San Franciscans have been missing the chance to hold our government to the highest standards because they just don’t have the tools to make their voices heard.

That’s why we’re committed to doing more than making sure more data is available but also using that data to improve our quality of life. And we want to make sure many, many more people can participate in improving city government.

So we think it’s great that we have apps that show us how late our bus is going to be. But the breakthrough will come when the Municipal Railway uses GPS to keep the buses and streetcars from bunching together – so transit is on time.

Politicians using YouTube to spread the word about government innovation is an important first step. But we are proposing using YouTube to let more San Francisco residents inform and improve local government. Our YouTube petition idea is just one example of how we think better technology means more robust democratic participation, which will drive government innovation.

Creating a 311 system that lets San Franciscans call, tweet or email problems or complaints is a powerful innovation. But the true breakthrough will be when we hold our government accountable to this data – and make it a day-to-day part of management.

What Reset San Francisco Is All About

That’s the goal of Reset – using a campaign setting to bring tens of thousands of new San Franciscans into the government and political process.

But victory for one candidate isn’t enough. While we are still small – our ambitions our lofty. We don’t just want to change how candidates campaign. We want to change how elected officials govern in ongoing consultation with this educated and empowered community.

We hope you’ll check it out and get involved at www.ResetSanFrancisco.org.

You can read the post on SF.govfresh.com. And stay tuned for more info about the SF Mayoral Government Forum on June 16.