[Editor’s Note: John Roderick is the singer and guitarist of The Long Winters and co-host of the podcast Roderick On the Line. He’s currently running for Seattle City Council at-large position 8. He wrote this commentary in response to the public letter and endorsements released Monday by a group affiliated with the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce’s Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy.]
Yesterday a small group of Seattle tech executives and venture capitalists wrote an open letter to the tech community encouraging them to get more involved in the Seattle City Council race, saying: “Depending on the outcome, we’ll either have a council that will actively try to punish the tech sector, or a council that can make Seattle a great example of how to grow an economy quickly and well, solving a lot of lingering societal problems in the process.”
This election is important, and the tech community is right to recognize that their engagement matters.
But these recommendations really blow it.
The tech sphere isn’t just a new iteration of the same old establishment business class; technology is fostering a societal revolution as much as a business one, democratizing the way we interact with each other and with cities, businesses, transportation, money and information.
Unfortunately, profits are pooling at the top, and “lingering societal problems” are being exacerbated as wealth is being consolidated into the hands of a few venture capitalists and CEOs.
Meanwhile, new technologies being developed in the labs three floors down offer the opportunity of a more level playing field, where information and access are more broadly shared. This tension at the heart of the tech community needs to come out into the light.
Let’s be honest, the Libertarianism that characterizes most tech boardrooms is out of step with the liberal communities that foster innovation.
Tech companies don’t move to Seattle because we provide a quasi-Republican business climate, they come here for the smart people, the dynamic energy, the arts and music scene, and the walkable and diverse street culture. Tech management might see itself as the inheritors of laissez faire capitalism, but tech workers want to live in thriving communities that are diverse, creative and active.
GeekWire co-founder John Cook writes in Tuesday’s article that “…Amazon.com, Google, Facebook and other tech giants are transforming Seattle in new ways, adding tons of high-paying jobs in a way that places like Cleveland or Buffalo or Pittsburgh would absolutely envy.”
This may be true, but the implication is that these tech giants will move their operations to Cleveland, Buffalo and Pittsburgh if Seattle doesn’t play ball.
The best programmers and engineers have their pick of places to work, and they are increasingly choosing Seattle because our progressive culture and livability are a major part of their benefits package. But this progressive culture demands a little more civic involvement from companies doing business here than simply revving up the economy.
We want to keep Seattle livable, and build a city of the 21st century.
This should be an exciting prospect for local tech people—to help build the Seattle of the future—but the boardroom folks just feel threatened.
The people of Seattle voted to redistrict the City Council to make it more diverse and representative, and the Chamber of Commerce (CASE) proceeded to endorse a predictable slate of incumbents and center-right challengers.
That wasn’t a surprise—chambers of commerce aren’t known for being forward-thinking—but why would tech leaders align themselves with politicians who are mostly still running Windows Vista? I mean, seriously.
These are the people who brought us the Bertha boondoggle, a highway tunnel that was obsolete before the first shovelful of dirt was moved. The current council can’t even understand the concept behind true municipal broadband, let alone muster the political will to build it.
Admittedly, some candidates regard the tech sector with hostility, and the political rhetoric is pretty inflamed, but that’s no reason to succumb to fear.
There are very good candidates in almost every race who understand that the tech community is crucial to the future of Seattle. People working in tech must be excited by the social and economic possibilities of the products they’re designing and building.
Technology provides us so many opportunities to build a more equitable society, and many people in the tech world understand that new technologies aren’t just profit-earning products, they are transformative tools.
I hope the tech community wants to engage. To collaborate to improve our city facilities and reimagine the modern urban metropolis in ways that serve us all, rather than to just pack local government with business-friendly candidates and then begrudgingly pay their taxes.
We can build municipal internet here, we can pioneer autonomous electric cars and liquid salt batteries. We are at the forefront of VR and AR research, gaming, e-commerce and interconnectivity, and the City Council can play a major role in making Seattle a test-case for some Earth-shattering new technologies.
That won’t happen by endorsing the old slate of establishment candidates. It will come with a new generation of civic leaders who understand that tech is more than just a business sector.
Yes, techies, get involved in civic life and politics! We need you!
