O’Malley lays out MetroLab goals, charges leaders to encourage tech officials.

[elleng]

In an exclusive interview with StateScoop, the former presidential candidate talks about how his time as mayor of Baltimore informs his vision of using data in city government.

'In the five months since former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley suspended his presidential campaign, he's turned his attentions back to city government.

A former mayor of Baltimore, O'Malley last month joined White House-backed smart city advocacy and partnership group MetroLab Networks. There, O’Malley serves as a senior adviser and has taken the helm of creating and leading the group’s advisory board.

In an exclusive interview with StateScoop at the Smart Cities Innovation Summit this week, O’Malley discussed his role at MetroLab Networks, his hopes for elected officials to advocate for technology and his vision going forward.

StateScoop: Tell us a little bit about your new role at MetroLab. What are you working on there?

Martin O’Malley: I’m very excited about MetroLab. MetroLab is a consortium of about 34 leading cities and their university partners that are all about accelerating the development, research and deployment of oftentimes technological or big data solutions to city problems. I’ve been asked to be the chair of the advisory board, and we are carving out four main areas of focus for the several months ahead.

A lot of these have emerged from the work our partners already have in motion.'>>>

http://statescoop.com/omalley-lays-out-metrolab-goals-charges-leaders-to-encourage-tech-officials

[brer cat]

1. I think he is the right person

in the right place for right now. This:

Part of what ails us as a nation at this point in time is a lack of trust in our government and a lack of trust in one another. There is no substitute for a government that’s actually responsive, connected and effective for the citizens that it serves.

I think he is well qualified and eager to produce more than words on paper. Ultimately, I hope to see him in more prominent role nationally, but this looks like an area where he can produce good results now.