Election 2010: Geeks go down to defeat

Two high-profile high-tech honchos went down to defeat yesterday in California’s elections. The next governor from the Golden State will not be ex-eBay CEO Meg Whitman, who lost despite pouring $142 million of her own money into her campaign. (Good-bye Governor Ahnuld, hello Governor Moonbeam.)

And former HP chief and punching bag Carly Fiorina will have to wait another day for her call to public service in the Senate, losing to incumbent Barbara Boxer. (Fiorina ponied up a measly $5 million from her own piggy bank.)

I’m not usually in the business of Wednesday-morning political quarterbacking, but this opportunity doesn’t come around very often. The last time a geek ran for governor it was Georgina “Georgy” Russell, a dishy 26-year-old software engineer, one of the 57 candidates who ran in the 2003 special election to unseat Gray Davis, ultimately producing Governor Ahnuld. (I also offered myself as a write-in candidate; I got fewer votes than the late Gary Coleman.)

We know Carly and Meg didn’t lose because California voters were stoned. Proposition 19, aimed at legalizing California’s multi-billion-dollar marijuana industry, also went down to defeat (possibly because its supporters couldn’t remember where their polling places were).

What other obvious conclusions can we draw from this?

• California voters prefer cranky bald guys who used to date Linda Ronstadt to doughy blondes who used to run auction sites.
• You can’t (always) spend yourself to victory. Now if they’d auctioned off four years in the governor’s mansion instead of putting it to the voters, Whitman could have swooped in with a last-second $142 million bid and taken it all — especially since winner Jerry Brown apparently spent only $37.52 on his campaign. (Actually around $30 million, but it still seems like pocket change compared to Whitman.)
• People don’t forget. Saying “I was a great CEO” not only doesn’t make you a great politician, it also doesn’t make you a great CEO. History and public perception were not on Carly Fiorina’s side. And Barbara Boxer has made a lot of friends in Silicon Valley (a claim I’m not entirely certain Carly can make).

• Politics may be business as usual, but it’s not business. There are key differences, the primary one being that every voter is a shareholder and they’re harder to manipulate because you and your cronies can’t control a big block of them at once. And though CEOs can often avoid press scrutiny, politicians really can’t. The warts get magnified and broadcast 24/7.
• The other big difference: Businesses are not democracies. Everything is a little bit easier when people have to do what you tell them. You can’t fire voters.
• Beware of “demon sheep” ads and discarded housekeepers — both can come back to bite you.
• Political savvy trumps high-tech savvy — at least for now.

If nothing else, this election cycle proves the ascendency of the Geek Class, even if it doesn’t result in victory. There will be other elections and other candidates. Defeats today invariably turn into victories down the road, given enough time.

Whitman and Fiorina just weren’t the right geeks.

What geek would you vote for? Cast your ballot below or email me: cringe@infoworld.com. And no, if nominated I will not run, if elected I will not serve.

This article, “Election 2010: Geeks go down to defeat,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Get the first word on what the important tech news really means with the InfoWorld Tech Watch blog.