Jann Scott Boulders voice of conscience

The city of Boulder sent out the enclosed press release in association with F-Bomb for America. We approach this entire story a bit cynically because it has omissions and spin. We are sure that the City of Boulder wish the hell they never heard of Code for America. They practically say so here. The fiasco of “Boom Boom Boone” F-Bombing  her heart out from the stage of The Boulder Theater as an official city contractor speaking on behalf of the city made the city manager pull her hair out. Any denials by Boone  only made it worse. She was supposed to bring the community together not start WWIII.
Code for America was an an ill conceived choice from the beginning. Here is why.

Becky “boom boom ” Boone

Bringing code for America to Boulder was the idea of pro growth Venture Capitalist Brad Feld. Boulder Startup Community Members: Help Fund the Code for America Fellowship  He chipped in $75,000 to bring  F U America to Boulder. But the city never reveals that anywhere.  Feld is the main proponent of A Better boulder, too. They are a lobbying group that want to see more businesses , taller buildings and more crowding down town. No one reveals that.

So when the city says that Becky Boones F-Bomb speech became divisive pitting pro-growth and no growth groups agin each other, well it was part of a larger plan.  She was designed to do that. She was hand picked , bought and paid for by Brad Feld and his agents to push their Growth Agenda. Another problem is there is no transparency from the city or from F– for America concerning Brad Feld.

Brad Feld He gave $75,000. to Code for America

 Question: How much money does Brad Feld or his investments have invested in Code for America ??  Feld has so many investments , does anyone know?? City spokesperson Patrick Vonkeyserling said that Code F— America “Brad is one of several investors. The total raised privately by CFA is $41k.”  But what about the $75,000. ??

Having Boone Speak at Startup week Boulder and then at Ignite Boulder was another move by the pro-growthers to spin her supposed objectivity.  These events are run by event planner Andrew Hyde who was brought to Boulder in 2006 by Brad Feld to run Tech Stars one of Felds VC engines. Feld has backed Hyde from day one.  Their plan is to turn Boulder into Palo Alto California. More specifically Downtown Boulder.  Everything is smoke and mirrors with these guys.

Some media want to make a big deal that  city staff knew Boone was going plead   F— F— F— 8 times from the stage of the Boulder Theater and then put it on you tube.  But the city never said that their staff knew….. exactly  but Patrick Vonkeyserling City of Boulder PIO today said “The email pdf shows there was knowledge of the f bomb” presumable by someone on staff.  But did the city know that “Car Bomb Becky” was going to blow herself up on stage with 8 invective F bombs. ?? #hmmog!

Jennifer Pahlka with he femne fatale looks nearly sunk the company.

Meanwhile , the  Code for America Executive Director Jennifer Pahlka, tried to weasel her way out of this mess by saying:  Well she said it was just her opinion Oh nonsense!

So the city slapped Pahlka with a $15,000 dollar fine.  Code calls it a donation. Bull shit. It’s a fine. Then Pahlka goes on to imply that f bombing is the way to engage hard to reach segments of our population.

It is any wonder that the city did not hold Code in violation of contact and fire them last week.

To top it off Twitter exploded with it usual amount of hate speech from Boulder Startup employees aimed at no-growthers and media covering this story beginning with Boulder Neighbors.  All of this just what the city did not want. Code for America was supposed to bring the city together not blow the place up.

The Irony of all this is no one has said F— on TV more than me. The city shut down public access TV over my use of the F— word. ( I am now on channel 22 run by the school district where there is no F—s allowed)  But I did not “work for the city nor was I a contractor for the city” If I was I would have followed city decorum. Do I really have a problem with Becky Boone using the F— word at Ignite Boulder ?? I have a problem with the dishonesty of Ignite Boulder, Andrew Hyde, Brad Feld, A better Boulder and Code for America. In this case I side with the city staff all the way.  They really are trying to do what’s best and keep us protected from the minions of developers who would turn our Paradise into a parking lot. — Jann Scott

Below is the city full press release.
City, Code for America complete reviews into Ignite Boulder presentation

The City of Boulder and Code for America today announced that each organization has concluded independent fact finding reviews about the May 13 presentation at Ignite Boulder regarding the authorization of the presentation and potential city staff involvement.

While the city does not believe that formal authorization occurred, the review showed that some city staff members were aware of the planned Ignite Boulder presentation and provided input on potential topics, and one member of staff assisted with and reviewed the presentation prior to Becky Boone’s delivery. The review by staff may have led Ms. Boone to conclude she had city approval.

Jane Brautigam Boulder city manager is hopping dam mad and slapped a $15,000 fine on Code.

“Boulder has very high standards for the professionalism of its staff and strong core values that every city employee is expected to uphold,” said City Manager Jane Brautigam. “The failure of a city employee to honor the city’s commitment to respect all residents and their diverse perspectives on local issues is unacceptable, and the city will address this personnel matter seriously.”

“Boulder remains committed to working with Code for America to implement new engagement tools, and we believe the final report will include additional opportunities to engage every member of our community on a variety of issues,” said Brautigam. “It is unfortunate that the progress made under this project has been tainted by a divisive presentation. In the coming days we will be working to restore the community’s trust in city government and to take appropriate actions to ensure city procedures and standards are met going forward.”

Code for America also apologized for the tone of the presentation and remains committed to increasing Boulder’s opportunities to engage more people in local government.

“Our work in Boulder to help city staff diversify public input on housing was designed to supplement the already-planned engagement process spelled out in Housing Boulder with a variety of approaches consistent with Code for America’s engagement standard,” said Code for America Executive Director Jennifer Pahlka. “This past week, that work has been overshadowed by a focus on a talk given by the Code for America Senior Fellow working on the project, Becky Boone. Code for America works in city halls around the country, and we train our staff and fellows to understand and respect the professional norms of government and to use language that supports our partners. In this case, though Becky clarified she was not speaking for the city, it created a problem for our partners for which we apologize.”

“The ability for all to participate is a core value of government and of our work with the City of Boulder and around the country. It is also a core value of the generous private donors who contributed to the project,” said Pahlka. “Code for America has been working for the past several months to encourage all the citizens of Boulder to provide input on local housing discussions. While the intent of the Ignite Boulder presentation was to engage more people in the conversation, some interpreted it to take sides, and that does not reflect the inclusive approach that city staff and Code for America staff have taken throughout this project. Code for America believes that government can work for the people, by the people, in the 21st century – if everyone gets involved. We are eager for the focus to return to the important and innovative work that the city is doing and to the share the outcomes.”
Pahlka said to underscore its commitment to inclusive engagement and support the city’s commitment, Code for America will contribute to the city $15,000 in training, education, and additional software as a service and open source technical support to continue the use of some of the tools that have helped reach a wider audience in the project so far to assist the city to continue this pioneering work.

“Engaging the full community, especially hard-to-reach members, is important and critical work. We are committed to continuing to help the City of Boulder tackle this and ongoing community engagement work,” said Pahlka.

Emails regarding city staff input and contributions to the May 13 Ignite Boulder presentation have been released to the media.