[Linux-aus] Candidacy Support Statement - President or Ordinary Council Member

[Nathan Bailey]

On 2 December 2016 at 10:18, Anthony Towns <aj at erisian.com.au> wrote:
>
> So, for what it's worth, these things seem exactly in line with what I've
> seen from past councils over the past decade and a bit -- the council
> gets the boring, less visible work; council members have other things
> crop up that distracts them; and the best stuff is done by people who
> aren't actually on the council.
>
> It (still) seems to me like it'd be best for the council to recognise
> this reality and go with the flow, rather than trying to resist it...
>

Or to propose a new model that actually puts council in a role of driving a
leadership agenda, rather than just management/support role.

I think this is the crux of Kathy's platform - if council is to lead, then
other approaches must be identified to get the work done.
And for essential work, volunteers aren't an appropriate solution - because
they get busy, interrupted and sometimes don't have the required skills.
Have a volunteer team is great, but the buck needs to stop somewhere, and
that's going to either be with staff or a contractor (or, as with the
membership database problem, it never gets done).


> That gives some... counterintuitive conclusions though: for example, I
> think Kathy's vision would be most likely to be achieved if she weren't on
> the council, let alone President.


I think this misconstrues the brilliant opportunity Hugh and Kathy have
given us. This isn't a vote on leadership, its a referendum on the future
of LA.

Kathy winning doesn't require Kathy to deliver. It creates a direction for
the council (and future volunteers in all capacities) to work towards. It
might even be Hugh that delivers more of it.

I would love to see LA not just foster events, but also communities.
Vibrant communities of open developers who are creating things. An open
maker movement.
-N
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