Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee Elections December 2012/Candidates/Newyorkbrad/Statement

Newyorkbrad
I submit myself as a candidate for reelection to the Arbitration Committee.

It is hard to believe that it has now been five years since I was first elected as an arbitrator. The community was extraordinarily kind to me in both the 2007 and 2010 elections. I have done my best to live up to the trust that was placed in me.

For better or worse, I'm pretty much a well-known quantity by now. I've written 15 or 20 of the Committee's decisions since 2008, voted on several dozen others, participated actively on our noticeboards and mailing list, and served since the fall of 2011 as the Committee's liaison to the Wikimedia Foundation office. I do my best to work toward an outcome in every case, and every other matter that comes before the Committee, that promotes the best interests of the encyclopedia, of the community that creates and maintains that encyclopedia, and of the millions of people who read and rely upon our content every day.

I hesitated about running again this year, because there's certainly a plausible argument to be made that four and one-half years (a three-year term and a two-year term, minus a couple of wikibreaks) is long enough for any one person to serve as an arbitrator. Certainly I agree that new blood should enter the Committee following each election. On the other hand, a degree of experience and continuity among the arbitrators is also desirable. With eight of the 15 ArbCom seats to be filled in this year's election, it appears that most of the incumbents have decided not to run again; and several of the seven arbitrators whose terms carry over to next year are in their first year of service.

My views on the issues that will face the Arbitration Committee over the next two years, and my thoughts looking back on my service during my prior and current terms, will almost certainly come through much more clearly in responding to questions than in any statement I could prepare in advance. I look forward to answering your questions, both on the official questions page and in any other forums that may arise. Thank you for your consideration.

Finally, I commit myself to more mainspace efforts in the next two years, whether I'm reelected or not.


 * As a sitting arbitrator, I've identified to the Wikimedia Foundation. I've never used any alternate accounts; other than a dozen or so IP edits in 2005 or 2006 before I registered, I have edited only as Newyorkbrad.