An open Boston City Clerk, Assistant City Clerk.

What would City Hall be like if we had a more open Boston City Clerk and a more open Assistant City Clerk?... What would City Hall be like if the offices of the City Clerk didn't intimidate the public?... but actually performed the services of a City Clerk in a welcoming manner with a welcoming attitude instead of the usual bad attitude at the Clerks counter.

It's 2011 and now time to update the offices of City Clerk and Assistant City Clerk that all are welcome with their enquiries about local government.

Good civics programs would encourage all to learn more about municipal government. Good civics programs would encourage people to bring their more awkward enquiries that the offices of City Clerk are prepared and willing.

Good civics programs would offer essay contests for high school students and college students to write about city government, FOI freedom of information public records principles, sunshine open public meetings principles of open government.

Automatically generated transcript

Scroll to the end and check out
"AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT"
a mechanism used for call in radio at
http://audio.wrko.com/a/37087907/hackdom-alive-and-well-in-the-baystate.htm

And checkout transcripts for PBS shows, for example at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/slaves/etc/script.html

It's easier reading through text than waiting through video recordings.

Did Councilor Pressley request the stenographic machine record?

a.
For which public meeting of the Boston City Council from 2010 to 2011 did Councilor Pressley request the stenographic machine record?...

b.
For which public meeting of the Boston City Council from 2010 to 2011 did Councilor Pressley get a copy of the stenographic machine record?...

Specimen. Sample ballot.

Specimen Ballot
Especimen De Papeleta
Penalty For Willfully Defacing, Tearing Down, Removing Or
Destroying A List Of Candidates Or Specimen Ballot.

Fine Not To Exceed One Hundred Dollars.

La Penalidad Por La Destruccion, Alteracion, O Eliminacion De Esta
Papeleta De Candidatos Sera Una Multa De No Mas De 100 Dolares.

City of Boston / Ciudad De Boston
Specimen Ballot / Especimen De Papeleta
Special Preliminary Municipal Election / Eleccion Municipal Preliminar Especial
Tuesday, February 15, 2011 / Martes, 15 De Febrero De 2011

District/Distrito 7
Ward/Circunscripcion 4 Precincts/Precintos 4,5,8 & 9
Ward/Circunscripcion 7 Precincts/Precintos 10
Ward/Circunscripcion 8 Precincts/Precintos 3,4,5,6 & 7
Ward/Circunscripcion 9 Precincts/Precintos 2,3,4 & 5
Ward/Circunscripcion 11 Precincts/Precintos 1,2,3, & 5
Ward/Circunscripcion 12 Precincts/Precintos All Precincts 1 - 9
Ward/Circunscripcion 13 Precincts/Precintos 1,2,4 & 5



[ City Seal http://www.cityofboston.gov/visitors/about/cityseal.asp ]
Sicut patribus sit deus nobis.
As with our fathers may God be to us
Bostonia condita A.D. 1630.
Boston Founded in the Year of Our Lord 1630.
Civitatis regimine donata A.D. 1822.
City Status Granted by the Authority of the State in the Year of Our Lord 1822

Geraldine M. Cuddyer
Helen Y. Wong
Ellen E. Rooney
Shawn K. Burke
Board of Election Commissioners
Comisionados de la Junta Electoral

Instructions To Voter / Instrucciones Para El Votante
To Vote, completely fill in the Oval to the Right of your choice: [~]
To vote for a person not on the ballot, write that person's name and
residence in the blank
space provided and fill in the oval.

Para Votar, rellene completamente el Ovalo a la Derecha de su seleccion: [~]
Para votar por una persona que no esta en la papeleta, escriba el
nombre y las direccion de esa
persona en al espacio provisto y rellene el ovalo.

Candidates for City Councillor
Candidatos Para Concejal Municipal Del
District/Distrito 7

(For Unexpired Term) / (Para periodo que no haya expirado)
Vote For One / Vote Por Uno
Natalie E Carithers
20 Brookledge Street District/Distrito 7

Danielle Renee Williams
75 Munroe Street District/Distrito 7

Cornell Mills
9 Dennison Street District/Distrito 7

Tito Jackson
37 Schuylar Street District/Distrito 7

Roy Owens
6 Woodville Street District/Distrito 7

Althea Garrison
98 Howard Avenue District/Distrito 7
Former State Representative / Representante estatal anterior

(Write-In) (Escriba el nombre)


.

Job description. City Messenger.

The revised job description for the City Messenger needs to include archival skills for historic preservation of the Annual Reports of city departments. For too long the City Messenger has been withholding access to the Annual Reports that are supposed to be made available, violating responsibilities of the City Messenger. An open Boston City Council would see that the City Messenger would improve access to these public documents that citizens are supposed to have access to without even having to know to ask for the documents. A listing on the web or putting the documents themselves on the web would be taking the responsibilities of the City Messenger seriously. Regrettably the City Messenger and other Boston City Council staff only make a pretense of carrying out what they should actually be doing.

Budgeting for Boston City Council offices and staff.

The budget of Boston City Council offices and the 100 or so Council staff needs to be looked at with respect to the technologies used to communicate the deliberations, the proceedings. For too long the Boston City Council has been resisting enquiries for public information, has been resisting enquiries for public documents from the City Council.

See also:
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/02/08/0112246/New-Hampshire-Begins-Open-Data-Efforts

http://techpresident.com/blog-entry/new-hampshire-opens-its-states-legislative-data

Example of proper data publication:
http://gencourt.state.nh.us/downloads/Members%28Asterisk%20Delimited%29.txt

and more:
http://gencourt.state.nh.us/downloads/

A secret conspiracy to change the government by secret conspiracy.

The real story of Boston City Council is that you aren't welcome to observe the weekly public meeting. The City Council Chamber seating is made uncomfortable for citizens. The attitude of staff is offputting discouraging enquiries and discouraging access to public information for attending what is supposed to be an open public meeting. The 100 or so Council staff are remarkably uninformed about sunshine open public meetings principles and FOI freedom of information public records principles of open government. The 100 or so Council staff enunciate the principles but fail at putting the principles into their daily practice.

Job description. City Stenographer.

Revise the job description for the Boston City Stenographer responsible for recording the public meeting of Boston City Council. The original stenographic machine record shouldn't be removed from City Hall. The original shouldn't be taken home by the City Stenographer for preparing minutes.

A more up to date stenographic machine should be used.

The City Stenographer should retire with an incredible amount of money so that she can live luxuriously. But this City Stenographer should retire.

Job description. Staff Director.

The job description for Staff Director of Boston City Council needs updating to include technology skills for communicating the work of the City Council.