Former chief data officer to Philly mayoral candidates: Follow Nutter’s lead, then do more

The city’s first (and former) Chief Data Officer Mark Headd penned (well, typed, probably) a mayoral-race related column for our good pals over at Technical.ly Philly that ran online Tuesday.

Its headline: “Why the next mayor of Philadelphia must double down on open data.”

Its message: Open data is the key to an “ethical, open government.”

Though Philadelphia “has been a national leader in open data,” Headd urged the citizenry to “to take stock of how open their city government really is” as the mayoral primary election approaches.

Philadelphia voters have an opportunity to ensure that their next mayor is as committed to the idea of ethical government as the outgoing one. They now have the opportunity to ask candidates to clearly articulate their plans for ensuring that city government is open, ethical and responsive.

Mayor Nutter famously located the office of the Chief Integrity Officer directly next to his own in the mayoral office suite to send a message to everyone in city government that ethics was a priority in his administration. It’s time for the next mayor of Philadelphia to send the the same kind of message about the importance of publishing open data.

For the full essay, visit Technical.ly Philly.