‘High expectations’ drove IT in Tim Walz’s Minnesota, says outgoing CIO

“Technology is the engine of government,” and any administration looking to accomplish its policy objectives should hire a strong technology team. That’s the advice of Minnesota Chief Information Officer Tarek Tomes, who after nearly seven years, will soon step down for a CIO role with the University of Minnesota. For the Priorities Podcast, Tomes recalled Gov. Tim Walz’s request that he provide “no surprises.” In return, Tomes said, he received a vote of confidence that his department could deliver on high expectations. “When we have systems that are old or are not performing well, it’s because we choose to have them,” Tomes said. “It’s not because we have to have them.” He also remembered how technologists responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in his state: “The enduring memory was really two things. One was technologists meeting the moment, and the confidence that the executive branch really had that solutions could be crafted in a timely manner to meet those moments.”

This week’s top stories:

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Friday announced that the state’s 40,000 executive-branch employees will receive access to a ChatGPT-powered artificial intelligence assistant, a first for state government.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday announced a new statewide board tasked with ensuring that emerging technologies are deployed securely and “responsibly.” 

Nevada’s technology department last week announced a new policy aimed at uniformly classifying the state’s data, a once arcane practice gaining celebrity in an age of AI and cyberattacks.

New episodes of StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast are posted each Wednesday. For more of the latest news and trends across the state and local government technology community, subscribe to the Priorities Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts,Soundcloud or Spotify.