Insider Takes: Newark CIO on Staffing, Cybersecurity, Vendor Pitches

Ed Miranda is not only the new chief information officer for the city of Newark in the Bay Area; he’s also poised to move up from vice president to the presidency of the Municipal Information Systems Association of California (MISAC).

At this month’s annual MISAC conference in Monterey, Miranda participated in numerous breakout sessions, and he also addressed the burgeoning IT organization as a whole and in smaller groups. As the four-day conference wound down, Miranda took a few minutes to give Industry Insider — California a brief overview of his priorities.

As a career technologist, Miranda isn’t new to leadership or tech governance. In his new role as Newark’s CIO, he’s focused on recruiting and building his team. He has one person on his staff and is seeking to add four more technologists. He has one proviso: They must wear multiple hats. He noted that the city of about 48,000 people, situated between San Francisco and San Jose, has some sustainable technology but needs help in other areas — particularly, like so many jurisdictions, in the area of cybersecurity.

And as MISAC’s president, Miranda had a different message — a call to action to tech vendors: Read our strategic plan, with a particular eye on cybersecurity, and come to us with your ideas and proposals. Miranda said he was speaking for MISAC member cities up and down the state when he told vendors, in essence: Pitch us, but be patient — we’re all short-staffed, but we’ll get back to you as promptly as we can. We want to hear your ideas and solutions.

Miranda said he’s excited by the growing collaboration between MISAC and the California County Information Services Directors Association (CCISDA), as the two groups share many areas of interest. And as the conference drew to a close, Miranda also gave a shout-out to Roseville CIO Hong Sae, whose term as MISAC president concludes in January.