Mark Wright (politician)
Encyclopedia
Dr Mark Wright is a software engineer
and Executive Councillor responsible for Housing, Service Improvement and IT on Bristol City Council in Bristol
, England
. He has been councillor for Cabot ward
since 2005, and was re-elected in 2009.
from Bristol University
. He also completed a PhD
in astrophysics
at Bristol University. This PhD on "interstellar hydroxyl
masers" won the Royal Astronomical Society
's prize for "Best PhD in the UK" in 2002
authorisations to limit council "snooping" on residents . He was also chairman of one of the City Council's planning committees from 2007-2009.
He is a member of the South West Provisional Council and sits on the "West of England Partnership" Planning and Housing Board, which oversees policy in the former Avon area. . He is a Governor of St George's Primary School, which he helped to save from closure in 2008 .
He has a record of opposing ID cards , supporting tidal power
in the Severn Estuary
, and campaigning for reform of Parliamentary expenses
. He has also campaigned against nuclear power
and against light pollution
. In 2006 he helped save a popular piece of graffiti by renowned local artist Banksy
. An online petition Mark started collected over 3,500 signatures and was at that time the biggest e-Petition the council had ever received. .
He was the Liberal Democrat
candidate for Bristol South constituency at the 2010 General Election.
, open document formats, and open data
in UK local government. He speaks at IT conferences to highlight the problems still faced by public sector organisations wanting to avoid "vendor lock-in
", particularly to Microsoft
.
Software engineer
A software engineer is an engineer who applies the principles of software engineering to the design, development, testing, and evaluation of the software and systems that make computers or anything containing software, such as computer chips, work.- Overview :...
and Executive Councillor responsible for Housing, Service Improvement and IT on Bristol City Council in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He has been councillor for Cabot ward
Cabot, Bristol
Cabot is a council ward that covers the centre of Bristol. It gets its name from the Cabot Tower - a memorial tower on Brandon Hill that was built to commemorate John Cabot's voyage and "discovery" of North America.-Areas:...
since 2005, and was re-elected in 2009.
Background
Mark Wright was born in Bristol in 1974, went to schools in Bristol and has a degree in chemistryChemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
from Bristol University
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
. He also completed a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
at Bristol University. This PhD on "interstellar hydroxyl
Hydroxyl
A hydroxyl is a chemical group containing an oxygen atom covalently bonded with a hydrogen atom. In inorganic chemistry, the hydroxyl group is known as the hydroxide ion, and scientists and reference works generally use these different terms though they refer to the same chemical structure in...
masers" won the Royal Astronomical Society
Royal Astronomical Society
The Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
's prize for "Best PhD in the UK" in 2002
Politics
In his role on the council executive, Mark Wright is responsible for nearly 30,000 council houses in the city that house over 60,000 residents - one of the largest retained stocks of housing in the country - and is responsible for the spend of about £150m of public money per year . He has initiated the first council house building program in Bristol for nearly 30 years and launched a drive to get empty homes in the city back into use . Under his IT remit he also tightened the Council's rules on RIPARipa
Ripa is a Latin word, meaning the bank of a river. The word is part of the name of a number of places, mainly in Italy.Ripa may refer to:-People:*Albert de Rippe , Italian lutenist and composer, also known as Alberto da Ripa...
authorisations to limit council "snooping" on residents . He was also chairman of one of the City Council's planning committees from 2007-2009.
He is a member of the South West Provisional Council and sits on the "West of England Partnership" Planning and Housing Board, which oversees policy in the former Avon area. . He is a Governor of St George's Primary School, which he helped to save from closure in 2008 .
He has a record of opposing ID cards , supporting tidal power
Tidal power
Tidal power, also called tidal energy, is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of tides into useful forms of power - mainly electricity....
in the Severn Estuary
Severn Estuary
The Severn Estuary is the estuary of the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain. Its high tidal range means it has been at the centre of discussions in the UK regarding renewable energy.-Geography:...
, and campaigning for reform of Parliamentary expenses
United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal
The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal triggered by the leak and subsequent publication by the Telegraph Group in 2009 of expense claims made by members of the United Kingdom Parliament over several years...
. He has also campaigned against nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
and against light pollution
Light pollution
Light pollution, also known as photopollution or luminous pollution, is excessive or obtrusive artificial light.The International Dark-Sky Association defines light pollution as:...
. In 2006 he helped save a popular piece of graffiti by renowned local artist Banksy
Banksy
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter.His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine irreverent dark humour with graffiti done in a distinctive stencilling technique...
. An online petition Mark started collected over 3,500 signatures and was at that time the biggest e-Petition the council had ever received. .
He was the Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
candidate for Bristol South constituency at the 2010 General Election.
Open Standards advocacy
Since taking the responsibility for IT at Bristol City Council in 2009, Wright has become a vocal proponent of Open SourceOpen source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
, open document formats, and open data
Open Data
Open data is the idea that certain data should be freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish, without restrictions from copyright, patents or other mechanisms of control. The goals of the open data movement are similar to those of other "Open" movements such as open source, open...
in UK local government. He speaks at IT conferences to highlight the problems still faced by public sector organisations wanting to avoid "vendor lock-in
Vendor lock-in
In economics, vendor lock-in, also known as proprietary lock-in or customer lock-in, makes a customer dependent on a vendor for products and services, unable to use another vendor without substantial switching costs...
", particularly to Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
.