The Washington Post‘s local technology columnist, Ellen McCarthy, has a short profile today of Aneesh Chopra, the incoming Secretary of Technology in the Kaine Administration. The tone appears be one of skepticism as to whether Chopra can fill the shoes of the current secretary, Eugene Huang. As far as I could see, Huang’s shoes were usually in front of some reporter, straining to get more wunderkid coverage.
McCarthy gets good quote from the first ever technology secretary:
Donald W. Upson, the technology secretary under Gov. James S. Gilmore III, said Chopra will have a steep learning curve. “He’s got a lack of experience, that’s against him, but if he recognizes that and uses that office to bring people together, he can make a difference — I hope he does,” Upson said.
Ah, yes, technology is all about bringing people together, especially if they’re big IT consultants who might hire you when your term is up.
Chopra has his feet firmly on the ground, however:
Chopra concedes that he’s not an expert on the inner workings of technical systems. “What I brought to the table was an understanding of the capabilities of new technologies and how they might advance a particular agenda,” he said.
I think that’s a good attitude. New technologies aren’t about “gee whiz,” they’re about doing things better, faster, and with easy accessibility.
Here’s my advice for Chopra–call up Jim Bacon and sit down for an interview on your preliminary concept of the job and the challenges. Don’t let this unfounded skepticism fester. Take command of the agenda. You will face a lot of tough questions about the outsourcing deal your predecessors left.
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