We’re making civic information accessible. Learn more
We’re making civic information accessible. Learn more
Hi! My name is Toshy Penton.
[tl/dr: I’m a native Virginian, a new father, and honestly, just one more person trying to make my community and my country better places to live for everyone, in any way I can, however small.]
I’ve lived in Virginia since I was four, and though there have been many chances to leave – and believe me, I’ve thought about it! – something about this place keeps me rooted here. When my family moved to Virginia in 1995, we rented a house in Charlottesville and eventually settled a little outside the city in Albemarle County. When I went off for school, I attended Virginia Tech, where I majored in environmental policy and planning. I then returned home to Charlottesville and fell into digital marketing.
I started my own business in 2016, a turning-point year for politics across the country and for us here in Charlottesville. The more time I spent building a life for myself and (now) small family, the more important it was for me to know about and participate in our local community, including its elections and leadership. Especially after buying my first home and then the chaos and tragedies of 2020, I knew I needed to find my place within this passionately engaged community.
I had a frustrating but, I’m afraid, far too common experience trying to find good information on local candidates in a 2022 Charlottesville election.*** I searched for candidates and I searched for elections (e.g., “2022 us house elections”). I found candidate websites and a handful of 3rd-party websites, but I wanted more information and I wanted more context. What district am I in? How much do these people get paid? Does the district lean Democrat or Republican? What are the stakes of this election for the issues that are important to me and my family?
This experience prompted me to turn my attention to how essential election and political information circulates (or, more accurately, doesn’t) in our local and national discourses. My journey led me from the issue of where to find sound election information on the local level to the root problem that is poisoning the landscape of our political media.
The story goes something like this: Big media companies use the news cycle’s political content to capture our attention for profit. This attention economy results in amplification of outrage, political polarization, and increasing social isolation, which in turn siphons off energy that could be used for civic engagement and action. Manufactured outrage fails to change the status quo; it leaves citizens overwhelmed, disengaged, and unable to see past the (national) ballot box. This cycle ensures that money keeps flowing toward big media and away from local journalism and elections, and keeps our attention off of local and state legislators – you know, the guys who make the most difference to our lives on a day to day basis and could really use some accountability.
I think we all know who the villains here are. But as much as I hate big tech and the attention economy, the strategies and technologies used to attack our privacy and sanity have been wildly successful, and I began to think that it’s high time to use those strategies to fight back. So two years ago I embarked on this project, which is in the first phase of its development – providing Virginians with clear, comprehensive, and contextualized election information. But that’s only the beginning. When this project reaches its final stage, my hope is that it will not only make vital political information accessible but that it will facilitate civic engagement and democratic action.
Though my background is in digital marketing, the way I put it is that it pays the bills but the traditional route is not fulfilling and it’s not for me. I’ve decided to use my skills and experience to build something meaningful not only for me but for something larger than myself or my family: a more equitable, more just, more abundant future for my neighbor. It’s time we made our democracy much more democratic. Want to help me? Check out the project page.
***You can read more of my thoughts about our media landscape and civic tech that sprang from this experience in this article for C-Ville Weekly.
PS: Support your local journalists and news organizations; they’re heroes doing vital work for our democracy.
