Baltimore Technology Com Questionnaire

Technical.ly Baltimore: Mayoral Election Questionnaire

Please answer with a YES, NO or NOT DETERMINED.

I recognize the importance to the future of Baltimore that the local tech community has, featuring entrepreneurs, technologists, innovators and their supporters. YES

I support the need for supplementary educational opportunities in STEM, like robotics, advanced manufacturing, and entrepreneurship for Baltimore school children to be better prepared for careers of the future. YES

I support prioritizing computing centers and digital literacy training in the City of Baltimore budget for modern workforce development, leveraging the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore City Community College and other existing stakeholders to help develop a more inclusive and diverse innovation ecosystem. YES

I support programs that aim to attract, retain and grow early stage businesses, like the Emerging Technology Center, and its Accelerate Baltimore program [MORE], in addition to private-sector incubators like Betamore, the University of Maryland BioPark, the Johns Hopkins University FastForward, Impact Hub Baltimore and others. NO

I support introducing an Open Data Executive Order that would establish the regular release and maintenance of high-value city data and the use of an open data advisory council for outside guidance on modern standards for ethics and efficiency. NO

I support retaining the Chief Data Officer position as an internal advocate for open data, transparency and efficiency and facilitating the position’s collaboration with pre-existing government agencies to do the same. NO

I support using Data.Baltimore.Gov to effectively share and distribute city data resources. NO

I support the development, maintenance and use of APIs to distribute and leverage city data whenever possible, rather than static snapshot data sets. When necessary to provide static snapshot data sets, I support the delivery of city data and information in machine readable formats, like .XLS, .XML and .JSON. NO

I support city procurement reform to enable the City of Baltimore to more efficiently, transparently and modernly acquire the best goods and services, including the use of open source software when appropriate and preferring locally-based firms. YES

I support data-informed policy making, using programs like Baltimore CitiStat, OutcomeStat (and related departmental programs) to create an internal consumer ecosystem for the City’s open data activities and facilitate better governmental performance and efficiency. YES

I support the role private investment, like venture capital, must play in growing local communities through social entrepreneurship and other civic-minded business growth. NO

I support the retention of a Broadband Coordinator to solicit citizen and marketplace feedback on issues like broadband access, privatizing city conduit infrastructure and trends in 'dig once' policies, in which high-speed internet infrastructure must be installed whenever relevant city streets are uncovered for other maintenance, like on public water and gas infrastructure. YES

I support the use of body cameras for on-duty Baltimore city police officers. TO BE DETERMINED

I support publicly engaging and responding to citizen feedback using social media, as consumer-orientated private companies do. YES

I support the recommendations of current Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's A Connected City task force, including establishing high-speed Internet in city public schools and utilizing existing resources such as the city's transportation conduit system to strengthen Internet connectivity in the city YES

Do you have any related comments, perspective or issues important to you?

First, allowing only Yes and No answers shows how a social Democrat like Cindy Walsh has some problems with the stance promoted by Baltimore Tech Co and I do not feel it represents the expectations of many citizens in Baltimore. Each question above had parts that could have been answered Yes and No but restrictions prohibited that. I would like to say this. I am the only candidate that WILL make sure that the Baltimore Conduit not only stays public but that the infrastructure for high-speed broadband is competitive by subsidizing small business high-speed technology companies geared towards individual citizen and small business access to high-speed at an affordable price. This is the most critical aspect of technology in Baltimore and you do not mention this. Currently, Baltimore is heading towards complete domination of our high-speed broadband by global corporations as in global health care and global education corporations and will push most small business and individuals out of access with every higher rates. There must be small business competition and infrastructure built to assure net neutrality and access for all.
Second, it is Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland that will dominate that access and I do not support Baltimore City funding towards what are now essentially corporate entities. I do not support the structures of these BioTech labs because the health product patenting and marketing globally is NOT regulated and does not adhere to long-held clinical trial protocol. That said, I DO support and will fund all small businesses Baltimore citizens want to promote. I will fully fund technology labs in all public schools and libraries to be used as part of school curricula. I will not support taking apprenticeships into schools at elementary and middle-school levels because we do not need children learning these skills that early. Computer programming can be handled as a foreign language would in public schools.

Third, I do not support open access data as regards citizen’s data or data connected to city transactions with citizens. I do support open data as regards city agency transparency in public policy-making, in internal auditing of government operations, and in open door to all government discussions on future development policies. So, I do not share the enthusiasm of taking people’s private data---whether from SMART METERS or health care insurance, hospital data, et al protected under HIPAA. Baltimore Data Stat can be used for many purposes so I cannot say YES and include all that this questionnaire states. I will use Data Stat in operational analysis, implementation, and oversight. I will not use data strictly in what is being called---evidence-based policy because we are already seeing the bias in this towards corporate control and profit and away from social benefit. I am a social benefit candidate for Mayor of Baltimore.

Last, my administration will be very technology-friendly. It will include connectivity for all citizens and will make sure technology in classrooms are equal and appropriate for growing and changing corporate environments. I will not make K-college geared to job skills and vocational tracking with all of the teacher/student testing products. We have always had strong STEM curricula in our K-12 and community/4 year universities and I will stress this. We also have always had strong, broad curricula including liberal arts and humanities without Common Core which served our students well and that is what I will promote. I support having public schools with teachers hired permanently and not only corporate non-profits. I see a strong public school staff augmented by local non-profits and parents/communities. After-school program funding need to be sent to public schools with the ability for each administrator and parents to decide what this augmentation with community will look like.

My professional careers have been tied closely to data operations, collection, and analysis. I have extensive experience in medical research administration and education so I fit perfectly into the environment citizens of Baltimore want to create and hopefully your organization’s mem bers as well.

Thank you for this opportunity to discuss my views,

Cindy Walsh for Mayor of Baltimore.