On Garcetti's 100th Day: Let There Be Metrics

"For better or worse, facts began tumbling forth in the new "performance" section of the mayor's website Tuesday, Garcetti's 100th day in office," report Michael Finnegan and Ben Welsh. 

"Modeled on systems set up by Minneapolis, Boston and other cities, the website is supposed to answer the public’s most commonly asked questions," explained Finnegan in an article filed prior to the site's launch. "How many violent crimes have occurred in my neighborhood? How long does it take to get a building permit for a house remodel? Or a pothole filled, or a street light repaired?"

Though Garcetti promised to release the raw data behind the metrics unveiled on the beta site Tuesday, critics aren't waiting to pounce. 

"This is a marketing website, not an open government website," said Clay Johnson, a leading advocate of open-government data. "The difference is: open government websites don't just have the PowerPoint deck slides that make you look good."