Last week, Micah Sifry, the eCampaign Director for Andrew Rasiej, posted an exhaustive and honest analysis of Andrew Rasiej's unsuccessful bid for NYC Public Advocate. There's a lot to chew on in Micah's analysis, including a realistic appraisal of how the Internet helped - and didn't help - in advancing the campaign of Andrew Rasiej. Going forward, there's still hope for a new era of "open source politics" -- but only if the local tech community does a better job of pitching in:

"Another one of the unconventional premises of our campaign was the idea that young, “wired” individuals who work and play in the new technology economy would rally to support one of their own, a candidate who “gets it”—that is, who demonstrably understands the power and potential of networks and transparency in politics. Indeed, we started with lots of support and good will from key Internet organizers from the Dean, Clark, Kerry and Kucinich 2004 presidential campaigns along with “A-list” technology opinion-shapers like Doc Searls and David Weinberger...

But the fabled tech community turned out to be mostly a fable when it came to actually embracing Andrew’s campaign and setting aside time to spread its message. Yes, about 100 local and national bloggers linked to the campaign. But few made an extended commitment to pitch in..."

Thanks, Micah - you fought the good fight in pushing along the public debate about the role of Public Advocate in New York City and in explaining the link between technology and participatory democracy!