Garcetti Nominates General Manager of Information Technology Agency: RL NEWS Brief July 31, 2015

Garcetti Nominates General Manager of Information Technology Agency

LOS ANGELES — On July 30, Mayor Eric Garcetti nominated Interim General Manager Ted Ross to serve as the general manager of the Information Technology Agency and chief information officer for the City of Los Angeles. In this role, Ross will direct the city’s more than 460-person technology agency to harness the power of technology in order to achieve Garcetti’s goals of innovation, transparency, and efficiency across all aspects of city government.
Ross, a native of Los Angeles, has worked for the City since 2004, most recently serving as assistant general manager for Information Technology Agency and in information technology leadership roles under City Controllers Laura Chick and Wendy Greuel and at the Los Angeles World Airports. Ross has had key roles in replacing the city’s Financial Management System, instituting the Mayor’s Open Data Portal, and has been a major contributor to the city’s recent technology awards, including:

• First Place Digital City (Government Technology Magazine)
• First Place Open Data City (Code for America & Sunlight Foundation)
• Second Place Best of the Web (Government Technology Magazine)
• StateScoop 50 Project Winner (Drupal Project for LACity.org and other city websites)

The Information Technology Agency provides citywide systems, voice and data communications, a 24/7 data center, and the city’s public safety infrastructure, including police and fire radio communication systems on vehicles and helicopters.  This includes www.lacity.org, a new global navigation bar across all city websites, and the recently Emmy-nominated Channel 35 TV station.  The Information Technology Agency is a key player in the Mayor’s initiatives on cyber security, sustainability, open data, cloud computing, and developing an effective mobile workforce.
Today, the Information Technology Agency is leading efforts to improve broadband internet across Los Angeles through the CityLinkLA initiative.
Ross’s nomination is subject to confirmation by the Los Angeles City Council.

Poll Shows Bernie Sanders Beating Republican Candidates

A just released CNN poll found that Bernie Sanders out-polled all of the GOP’s major candidates, though he pretty much tied with Jeb Bush. Here’s how Sanders stacks up:
Sanders: 48%
Bush: 47%
Sanders: 48%
Walker: 42%
Sanders: 59%
Trump: 38%
Polling shows he’s the only candidate from either side who has a net favorability rating.
Donald Trump has 18 percent to Jeb Bush’s 15 percent. In the state polling, Trump is the leader in New Hampshire in the Marist poll, at 21 percent with Jeb Bush at only 14 percent. In Iowa, Trump is at 17 percent and Scott Walker is at 19 percent.