Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Bill Foster (candidate for Congress)


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.  

The result was No consensus, default to Keep. WaltonOne 14:06, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

Bill Foster (candidate for Congress)

 * – (View AfD) (View log)

This article seems to be a about a fellow who intends to run in his local Democratic primary for the party's nomination for his district. It is supported by a news report in a local newspaper, and the content of our article seems to be primarily some kind of promotional piece--the kind of flier that a candidate might be expected to hand out to prospective voters. I suggest that this isn't really what Wikipedia is for--specifically it isn't a soap box. Let's cover this chap if he ever makes it to the House of Representatives, certainly, but then there will be something to write about him. --Tony Sidaway 13:00, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Perhaps it could be userfied in case he is successful. --Tony Sidaway 13:09, 1 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Neutral. Clearly would fail WP:BIO if his candidacy were the only matter, but he may be notable as a physicist. The man won the Rossi Prize, although he won it as part of a group and I'm not sure if it's notable. Perhaps someone with more knowledge of his work could advise as to whether he is considered notable by his peers. -- Charlene 13:19, 1 July 2007 (UTC)


 * My opinion is that it should be deleted presently, and then if he is successful; re-create the page. Just my opinion.  Meldshal42 Comments and Suggestions My Contributions  13:29, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
 * My opinion is that being a candidate does not make one notable, but running for office doesn't actually take away from notability either. If someone's otherwise notable, a run for Congress doesn't make that person non-notable. I don't know whether his accomplishments as a scientist are notable enough, but I have a suspicion they might be. -- Charlene 13:41, 1 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Delete -- As it stands now, the article doesn't primarily address notability of the subject as a physicist. Until that notabiltiy is established, the article shouldn't exist as a campaigning stump.  /Blaxthos 14:06, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Keep but cleanup: assuming that all information in the article is correct, it should be kept for his actions as a physicist. Nyttend 14:23, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Rename, as well, since being the candidate isn't the reason for notability. Nyttend 14:24, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Keep actually for that company of his.  Kwsn (Ni!) 15:38, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Speedy Delete It's obvious from the title that this is not about his achievements as a physicist or a businessman, and it never was. Tony Sidaway is right on point.  This is blatant advertising.  If he gets elected, I'm sure his press secretary will write a very nice article.  Nice that he's starting early, what with the Democratic primary just 11 months away.  Mandsford 21:57, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Keep rewritten as an article on the obviously notable scientist. --with a small paragraph about his political ambitions, along with other hobbies--unless it develops further. I dont want to change the title during the AfD, but it should be "Bill Foster (physicist)"
 * I'm all for keeping articles on physicists, but do we have anything verifiable on this chap as a physicist? I see that he worked at Fermilab and was associated with nice stuff, but it's really all very vague about what he actually did.  On the other hand his company has a good article and perhaps it might be a good idea to redirect this article to the article on that company. --Tony Sidaway 23:31, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure & won't be until it gets worked on--it is very difficult to deal with those whose career is in government or industrial labs; academia is a good deal more open.DGG 23:13, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * OK, I did some work: it turns out he is G. William Foster, but at Fermilab he uses it interchangeably with Bill and William. I have enough references now that I've figured out the name. He is primarily a scientific administrator, not a scientist, but he led several of their largest development groups.  I think it is sufficiently shown by the awards mentioned in the first section (though some of them were shared) & head of some major projects--but I of course there must be independent verification since I do not trust a campaign biography, especially one that never mentions his full name.  Tony, what way  should we go:  I suggest an article on G. William Foster, with a redirect for Bill Foster, until his political career overshadows his scientific career. should I simply start over again at the correct name?DGG 00:09, 3 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Comment. I would suggest the G. William Foster article, if indeed he is notable. I would redirect from this article after it is renamed without the political line.  Jody B   talk 02:22, 10 July 2007 (UTC)


 * delete - this is the second 2008 state senate election candidiate bio I've seen, and this is only the slow trickle before the flood. Kripto 01:41, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Delete his company is not notable by WP standards - if 500 employees sets the bar, then many a busy restaurant, hotel, grocery store location would fit the bill - we are in the process of deleting Hyatt Regency Phoenix and Hyatt Regency Birmingham, and, gosh, not one editor has mentioned that these places may have the magical 500 employees needed to establish inherent notability and save the articles. Carlossuarez46 18:40, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
 * It depends on the business. His company made electronic theater controls, as was the 2nd largest in the country. That's not much a compared to, say, GE, but its one of the two major ones in the industry.DGG 07:22, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I agree that the business is important one. We already have an article on the business, so really we're asking whether this fellow should in addition have his own article. --Tony Sidaway 10:44, 4 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Illinois-related deletions.   -- John Vandenberg 23:13, 5 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Keep Notable as scientist ¿SFGi  Д nts!  ¿Complain! ¿Analyze! ¿Review! 21:26, 6 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Comment If the administrators are still debating about whether to keep this advertisement on here, it's worth pointing out that Bill Foster was "D-FENS", the troubled character portrayed by Michael Douglas in the 1993 film Falling Down, and also the name of American Communist Party Secretary William Z. Foster. "Vote for Bill... the candidate who cares enough to use Wikipedia." Mandsford 16:07, 7 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Keep as scientist. Delete parliamentary cruft for now  Giggy  UCP 04:30, 10 July 2007 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.