Contractors Bidding Davis a Fond Farewell

There has been some speculation that the next administration may try to rein in federal contracting, he said. "If there are abuses, they need to be addressed. But we need to take care here -- contractors provide a vital service to the country and touches every agency."

Blue State Digital Wins, Too

For one District-based company, the election is serving as a pretty powerful launching pad.

Blue State Digital designed President-elect Barack Obama's online fundraising effort and helped organize the campaign's Web-savvy supporters. The firm rose to prominence in 2003 and 2004 by catapulting Howard Dean's Internet-focused presidential campaign into the spotlight. Last week it launched Obama's transition Web site, Change.gov.

It is now branching out, with clients including Hollywood studios, the Sundance Film Festival, university alumni groups and nonprofits such as the Red Cross.

Managing partner Thomas Gensemer said Obama's victory proves that virtual organizations can translate to real-life action. And that's good for business.

"It's vindication that this stuff is real and made a difference," he said. "This grass-roots army of people were responsible."

The firm is still steering clear of conservative politics, though Gensemer said there's been plenty of interest.

"Would that mean creating a Red State Digital? No, we're going to stick to our progressive values," he said.

It presents a branding challenge in London, where Blue State Digital is opening an office this week to tackle projects in Europe: Britain's liberal party carries a red flag, not a blue one.

He Knew Obama Back When

Obama's top technology adviser, Julius Genachowski, told local technology figures at an Oct. 28 luncheon about how he met the president-to-be at Harvard Law School.

"We were two guys with funny names, and our backgrounds, while different, shared some important features that brought us together," he said. "My parents were immigrants, and we have our share of Holocaust stories. So we shared an appreciation that people with backgrounds like his and mine could end up at a place like Harvard, where we never expected to be."

Genachowski, who runs District-based Rock Creek Ventures and co-founded local technology group LaunchBox Digital, is a key member of Obama's transition team and is rumored to be a top contender for a Cabinet-level chief technology officer position.

Speaking with Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) and the state's secretary of technology, Aneesh Chopra, Genachowski said an Obama administration could take some cues from the way Virginia has used technology to track agency budgets and manage projects.

Kim Hart writes about the region's technology scene every other Monday.