Garlin Gilchrist, 39, a self-proclaimed techocrat, is a lieutenant to the governor of Michigan. He lives with his wife and twins in Detroit.
I remember meeting you about ten years ago at a technical conference as a young engineer talking about writing code. Another thing I heard was that you would run for office and then for lieutenant governor of Michigan. How do you understand the way? At the same time, I was introduced to technology and community participation. As a very young Detroit, my parents were very active in our neighborhood. They are the chairman and vice-chairman of our block association, where I live. I've seen them unite with our neighbors and push for public art projects and better use of Detroit's public space. I saw it in 4 years. And then I got my first computer when I was 5 years old. So both sides of my brain are working at the same time - on the one hand, developing interest in working with the community and on the other hand, working with this new technology. And when I grew up, they both grew up, and then at the age of 8, I added basketball. Each of these aspects worked in similar colleges, and my parents encouraged me to explore all aspects of my personality.
This led to a unique experience. As a dual engineer at the University of Michigan, I also led a black organization on campus and helped organize our response to the positive actions and admissions policies that went to the Supreme Court in 2004, and helped respond to cases of racism on campus. I am one of the few engineering students to do such a thing.
I always thought I had a technical mindset, but I also care about people, so after four years as a professional engineer, I was looking for a way to put it together. So I quit my good job at Microsoft - a week before I got married - to become a community organizer at MoveOn.org and learn from some of the best organizers in the country how to do well and try to do better, because they know how to use technology.
Yet it looks like a great leap of faith. As unfair, tech people are not considered particularly service-oriented.
I work at D.C. I worked for five years on suffrage, economic justice, expanding health care, but when my wife and I wanted to move home to Detroit, I thought about what I could do to influence most people. And when I think about it, there is no company I can work for that has everyone as my customers, and it is not a company I can work for that has everyone as my customers. The only entity that has influenced everyone by definition and proposal is the government. If I really want to be someone who can influence most people, the government is the most effective place to do so. That motivated me to enter the public sector. And when I did, it wasn't because he was an elected official; I should have been a technocrat. I don't want to be in politics. I actually left D.C. work in public administration.
You've heard the term, but how do you define "technocrats" in a real and practical way? In my case, I do super ordinary things, but I really enjoy working on data policy transparency and changing the way we repair fire hydrants. I created an application for non-emergency telephone services. I create systems that work for the people, build trust in the government, and create things that are not politically articulated, but that things work for the people.
Some solutions are almost as obvious as using technology, so where is the connection between technology and government?
I think we will improve in that, but the first step is to recognize that technology is not the answer to most problems. But technology offers a way to speed up answers. A way to work better.
And how does it last when applied to more complex problems?
Let me give you a specific example: Gov. [Gretchen] Whitmer to lead our efforts to reform the criminal justice system. I traveled 19 cities. In every city, I've heard something that people think can help keep their cities running, and that's whether we can provide people with a way to clean and erase their criminal records. They said, "If you can do it, people qualified for work, qualified at home, qualified for educational training will do it. At the moment, they are excluded because they made mistakes in their past and can't get it." .
That is what we need to do. The system is used by only 7 percent of people eligible for the program, so it is an invisible system. In collaboration with my team and the legislatures that care, we said, "Let's create this system for people." That we're expanding a lot in terms of the types of violations that are appropriate. We reduced the time needed to qualify from seven years to five and, above all, we automated the process - and the technology was there.
The reason why only 7 percent of people benefit from the system is that it is complicated; you have to fill out all these papers, you have to hire a lawyer and then wait. Justice is yours - you don't have to jump on a bandwagon to gain access to the justice you have by law. That's why we linked these data systems to a qualifying record, and now, after five years, you've just lost things in your record. We inform them, and then they are qualified for the job; they will be immediately suitable for living; they can immediately enter the college program. In the coming years, a million people in Michigan could qualify. Michigan now has the most progressive and comprehensive criminal record removal program in the country.
But the only reason I know it's possible is because I'm a software developer. This is because I need to find these systems that are not interconnected and see opportunities for the data that makes a lot of sense to many people. That wouldn't happen if I wasn't a technologist.
I think there are opportunities for such success in almost every kingdom.
Michigan's historical image is the center of American production. How do we think about Michigan in the 21st century?
I think the way to properly understand today's state of Michigan is that we are a place where if you want to get your idea and make it real, there is no better place than Michigan. Michigan has led the nation in investing in life sciences companies over the past few years. These are the people who are designing the healing of tomorrow and doing it today. Look no further than the fact that the covid vaccine is made by Pfizer here in Michigan.
But Michigan is also where we software companies have grown into unicorns in the last 10 years and in ways I don't know would be possible if I attended the University of Michigan. Actually, that's why I left Michigan, because I didn't think it was true. Work has already been done so that people with ideas can come from it and develop their ideas.
We also remain a muscle building area. We have the highest concentration of engineers in the country in southeastern Michigan, and these people are not unemployed; they do things. In Michigan, we get the impression that he's more enterprising than maybe a generation ago. So my opinion for anyone who wants to build something real, something good and something good is that there is no better place than Michigan. Michigan is a place of contrast: a governor, a black lieutenant governor, and then a section of the population that seems to want it all over. Does that make Michigan unique or what does America look like today?
It's a complicated place like any other state, but I'm not afraid to face it. My responsibility is to everyone in every community in the state, even to those who don't like me - or the fact that I am who I am - in the position I am in. But it's my responsibility to go where they are, and it's a great condition. I have been to all 83 districts to talk to people, and there are problems that unite us, even in the face of violence and opposition.
For example, something that is close and dear to me, and that is internet access. It crosses racial, urban and rural lines. So now that I'm in this position to work with my colleagues on a real solution to this problem and to be in that generation that ends up in separate communities, it's very inspiring and it's something that unites us all.
Why do you think you have been successful in selling insurance in both ways? I'm ready to be honest. Both chambers of the legislature are led by Republican majorities, and at my first meetings on Internet issues, I think they were perfectly prepared to let me in and just talk about the problem and its significance for Detroit. I'm black, I'm from Detroit; I'm sure he thinks that's exactly what I want to talk about.
I think empathy leads us to do something and talk fluently about the problems of rural communities and be sensitive to them.
What does this story mean for Congress? First, it is a general lesson for us as officials. There are many problems that seem unsolvable, but the problems are unsolvable. If you decide to move forward and use resources, you can do so. When you focus on the challenge, you can move forward to solve it.
Do you want more people from the technology community to get involved in politics? It's not just a political or optional service, but I think a lot of people in the technology community have to choose whether to spend time in government, whether in office or in political roles.
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