User:Achowat/COI

Hello and welcome to my Conflict of Interest Disclosure Page.

I hope that the way you found this page was that I made a particularly good edit or Talk comment, you came to my User page to find more about me, and noticed this blue link and decided to follow it.

What I hope, above all hope, is that you didn't come here because you suspected a Conflict of Interest. If you did, please inform me on my Talk Page; I want to know where You think I crossed the line. And no, it doesn't matter who You are. IP, Admin, Steward, or Jimbo...if even one person thinks my editing is Conflicted, I'd like have an opportunity to respond to those criticisms.

The last thing in the world I'd want is for some Editors to believe my edits are motivated by anything other than a desire to create an encyclopedia. If you have questions about the nature of my Conflict, not an edit (ie, you need clarification on a point described here or feel my below Statement of Commitment is insufficient or incomplete) please feel encouraged to comment on this sub-page's Talk.

I am a Professional Political Operative

This is the sole Interest that may create a conflict, and the exclusive reason for the creation of this page. I run and work for a small consulting firm in New England that works primarily with local races: City Council, School Committee, Mayor, State Legislature and the like. I am an active member of the local and state party (I chose not to disclose which, but one of the two largest in the nation I live), but consult for candidates from both parties. My role is primarily in fundraising, communication, and field operations and have had very little involvement in policy discussions.

I have, in my profession, been asked to author articles about clients. I have vehemently refused and refused to allow my colleagues to engage in paid editing. I have worked with and for several state and local officials who would easily pass WP:POLITICIAN; all of those people are red-linked, I have neither made articles about them nor requested that any other user do so. A simple review of My Contributions will show that I have not allowed my profession to interfere with my editing.

Statement of Commitment

As part of this Disclosure of Conflict of Interest, I will make the following commitments to the community, which will extend to all Wikimedia Projects:

• I will never accept monetary compensation for my editing.
• My main areas of focus will not be in the Political Realm.
• I will never use any special user tools on any page concerning politics in the United States.
  • Currently, this only Rollback, Review and AWB, however it is voluntarily expanded to include creating articles, moving pages, marking articles as patrolled, and overwriting files. This will also apply to any other tools I am subsequently given.
  • Any vandalism or BLP violation found on US politicians will be manually undone and, in all but the most blatant vandalism cases, a comment will be left on that article's talk page including a link to this page.
• I will not participate in any XfD process concerning politics in the United States.
• Any substantive change to a page concerning politics in the United States will be followed-up immediately by a notice on that article's talk page including a link to this page.
• I am self-imposing a One-revert rule on any pages concerning politics in the United States.

And finally, and most importantly, I will remain civil and respectful to any and all editors to which I have a difference of opinion, be it politically or otherwise.

Enforcement

To demonstrate my commitment to this Statement, I Achowat, hereby declare that the above Statement of Commitment shall be a binding policy on my edits. If it is determined that I have not been abiding by these commitments, I will embark on a 24-hour self-imposed WikiBreak. If it is determined by the administrators that I have acted in bad faith in regards to these commitments, I ask that appropriate action be taken against me. If I have abused the Rollback feature, I ask that it be taken away; if I am found in violation of any other Commitment, I ask that a short, preventative block be placed on my account.