Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Terence M. O'Rourke


 * 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 delete. Consensus is for deletion. North America1000 01:31, 14 November 2017 (UTC)

Terence M. O'Rourke

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No evidence of significant coverage in third-party sources, as an unelected candidate he also does not meet WP:NPOL nor do the (unsourced) claims about military service meet WP:NSOLDIER. Original PROD was removed by an IP editor stating: "objected to proposed deletion; there are plenty of third party sources in the article." RA 0808 talkcontribs 20:13, 6 November 2017 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Politicians-related deletion discussions.  RA 0808  talkcontribs 20:17, 6 November 2017 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of New Hampshire-related deletion discussions.  RA 0808  talkcontribs 20:17, 6 November 2017 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Massachusetts-related deletion discussions. CAPTAIN RAJU (T) 20:25, 6 November 2017 (UTC)


 * Delete Unelected candidate for office with no notability under WP:NPOL and no other claim for inclusion. AusLondonder (talk) 23:57, 6 November 2017 (UTC)
 * Delete This looks like a PR exercise for someone running for office. Agree that this does not pass  WP:NPOL or WP:NSOLDIER. Simply running for office is not sufficient for notability. The military service is completely unsourced and even if sourced would be insufficient for notability. His legal career may be his best chance of notability, but the sources seem to be either not independent or just passing mentions. Some do no even mention him at all, for example https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/terrorism/joint-terrorism-task-forces. His two years as an assistant US attorney (and his other activities) don't appear to have generated any significant coverage that I can find. I don't see this passing WP:ANYBIO or WP:BASIC. If he is elected then sure, but until then, or unless someone can did up solid sources, no. Meters (talk) 23:58, 6 November 2017 (UTC)
 * Keep I added a bunch of reliable sources to both his legal career and his military service sections. He has been consistently covered by the media in New Hampshire since declaring his candidacy.  At worst, this article should be placed back into draft form.  — 2601:184:407F:8B91:BDBD:2663:7B71:5B6A (talk) has made few or no other edits outside this topic. The preceding unsigned comment was added at 03:42, 7 November 2017 (UTC).
 * Delete - sorry the media coverage is only about his campaign. Candidates are not generally notable as per WP:OUTCOMES. If he is elected different story. Gbawden (talk) 06:44, 7 November 2017 (UTC)
 * I have not looked at all of the new sources added by the IP yet, but the first one I checked https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/10/18/1706873/-Daily-Kos-Elections-Live-Digest-10-18#update-1508363228000 was a blog (and hence not a reliable source). The next one I checked https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/aln/News/April%202012/April%2010,%202012%20Convicted%20Felon.html confirms that he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney but does nothing to establish notability as it is just a passing mention. The next one http://www.votevets.org/about?id=0004  does not mention him at all, and as far as I can see he is not lasted anywhere on that site. Meters (talk) 06:48, 7 November 2017 (UTC)
 * My mistake, the archive of the vote vets site does confirm his one year of service in Iraq. Meters (talk) 06:53, 7 November 2017 (UTC)


 * Delete most of the sources are simple routine coverage "prosecuted by O'Rourke" etc or about his campaign. Fails WP:NPOL and WP:ANYBIO. Domdeparis (talk) 10:01, 7 November 2017 (UTC)
 * Keep (Striking !vote by confirmed sockpuppet  RA 0808  talkcontribs 19:29, 8 November 2017 (UTC) ) Subject of article, Terence O'Rourke, is a Democratic candidate in what will be a highly contested primary race in New Hampshire's First Congressional District.  I believe the 18 sources already added to the article show that he meets Wikipedia's criteria for WP:POLITICIAN - he has "received 'significant press coverage' [and] has been written about, in depth, independently in multiple news feature articles, by journalists."  Significant press coverage will continue through the campaign and it doesn't seem like now is the time to delete this article now.   To be precise, the user has made all of a dozen other edits, all more than 4 years ago. Meters (talk) 19:11, 7 November 2017 (UTC)  — Jcmm7722 (talk • contribs) is a confirmed sock puppet of Mooneyjc  (talk • contribs).  (the article was created by Portpaul, another of Mooneyjc's socks). Meters (talk) 18:53, 8 November 2017 (UTC)
 * Keep, I’m not sure where to include this, but in response to one of the comments for deletion - specifically, “Unelected candidate for office with no notability under WP:NPOL and no other claim for inclusion”, I’d like to add that O’Rourke is, in fact, an elected official. He has been an elected official in my town for four years as a member of the Alton Budget Committee. Now, in the wake of the 2016 election, that may not seem like a big “election” to some of you, but to a town of only a couple thousand people, who already feel like they get left out of everything, that means something. He literally means the difference, for example, between whether the school budget passes or not. Not only is it an elected position, it is done without any pay or compensation whatsoever. Without people like O’Rourke who are willing to filll these positions in our small towns, our day to day functions would, quite literally, break down. So, if it means adding one more measly little Wikipedia page to the already millions you have, then would it hurt to honor a local official who is doing, has done, and will do more for the average person day to day than a dumb, two-bit YouTube celebrity (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_YouTubers)?


 * Oh, and for your source (below), I would direct you specifically to the second line of the town’s site where it indicates that the members of the committee are elected. https://www.alton.nh.gov/government/budget-committee


 * Thank you. — 65.175.147.50 (talk) has made few or no other edits outside this topic. The preceding unsigned comment was added at 12:15, November 7, 2017 (UTC).
 * Wikipedia does not confer an automatic inclusion freebie on every single person who's ever held any elected office at all — a person has to hold a notable political office, such as the state or federal legislatures, to qualify for an article on here, not just to have served on a municipal budget committee in a small town. Bearcat (talk) 18:49, 11 November 2017 (UTC)


 * Comment, the above entry was added to the top of this afd by ip 65.175.147.50, i have moved it into the discussion proper as a "keep" due to its content. Coolabahapple (talk) 13:50, 7 November 2017 (UTC)
 * In response to that comment, I would direct the IP user to WP:NPOL's note that "Just being an elected local official... does not guarantee notability". Further, they may want to consult Arguments to avoid in deletion discussions. RA 0808  talkcontribs 16:45, 7 November 2017 (UTC)


 * Comment All four of the named editors who have contributed to the article are CU-confirmed socks of user:Mooneyjc. All of the IPs who have contributed to the article or commented in this AFD are SPAs. Meters (talk) 18:58, 8 November 2017 (UTC)


 * Delete. As yet unelected candidates for Congress do not get Wikipedia articles just for being candidates — a person has to win the election and thereby hold the office, not just stand as a candidate, to qualify for an article per WP:NPOL. But this makes no valid claim of preexisting notability for other reasons — a municipal budget committee is not a notable office, and the law stuff is referenced to glancing namechecks of his existence in articles that are not about him. And neither is the congressional candidacy referenced to anything like the depth of reliable source coverage it would take to deem him a special case — it's referenced to the minimal degree of media coverage that every candidate in any election always gets from the local media because covering local politics is the local media's job. To make a candidate notable because his candidacy is getting coverage, that coverage would have to be exploding far beyond the run of the mill volume of purely local coverage that any candidate could simply expect to receive. As always, no prejudice against recreation in November 2018 if he wins the seat, but nothing here is a reason why he would already qualify for an article today. Bearcat (talk) 18:49, 11 November 2017 (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.