When Jim Kenney replaced Michael Nutter this year as Philadelphia’s new mayor, there were some changes. Officials came and went, titles were tweaked, roles were shifted, and bold policies were forged in pursuit of that familiar promise of a new future for an old city.
As one of the nation’s leading govtech landscapes, Philadelphia’s changes in technology leadership are particularly noteworthy. Former Civic Tech Director Aaron Ogle resigned in March, his duties absorbed by Web and Application Services Director Kyle Odum.
Story Bellows, former director of the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics (MONUM), left her post last year, leaving behind a Twitter account of 1,174 followers who’ve not received a communique in six months. The new administration is abandoning MONUM and pursuing what the mayor’s office calls a “far more collaborative effort” under Rebecca Rhynhart’s cabinet-level Office of Administrative Services. MONUM didn’t live up to its potential, a spokesperson told Government Technology, because it wasn’t fully integrated into departments like it should have been. Access the complete article.