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WebMCP entry
Inspiration
The inspiration for this project is from a long-standing issue that I had with the political process. In California, in the last election, over 30 candidates were running for governor, and a laundry list of gubernatorial positions for local needs. It's an arduous task to research all the candidates to find one you can trust. Relying on corporate-owned media and/or commercials, or on sites like Ballotpedia and Vote Smart, only skims the surface of who each candidate is, so I often had to do additional research through videos, C-SPAN, etc., to get a full understanding of each person. With U9itus, I wanted to bring all of these issues together in one place.
What it does
U9itus is a resource network that brings all data sources together in one place, allowing users to "date" their potential leader by accessing their history like a dating profile. Users can save their favorite candidates and use the Map feature to explore districts across America. With the added WebMCP functionality, users can connect AI systems to find relevant data connections and scale knowledge about each candidate.
How we built it
I built the system using Laravel and Next.js; these additional components of WebMCP expand on the functions already used in models and views, exposing specific data points via the browser.
Challenges we ran into
The most challenging aspect of this app's creation, beyond the countless errors and adjustments required to develop the monolith, was how data was collected. Using third-party APIs dedicated to political needs often required payment. So I had to creatively use tools such as RSS feeds, Google Civics, and Congress.gov, along with backend data matching and AI services to query and clean up data as it arrives through our Workflow services within GitHub. I also ran into issues with configuring the WebMCP tools. At first, the API were not properly designed to be accepted, and the data was pulled using Playwright functionality.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Following through even with all the adversities. After all the struggles, the application works.
What we learned
There are a lot of things I learned in the process. One notable aspect is the use of GitHub workflows and how data connects with AI WebMCPs.
What's next for U9itus: Political purview
I would love to get more users into the app, so I can learn how they use it. Also, I would love to work with the PACs and Non-profits to incorporate more dialed-in features that can help users with the voting process.
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