Episode Summary Boston's CIO thinks "modernization" is what you say when you've stopped investing. Clark County thinks AI should handle your entire move to a new city. Dell thinks you can't do any of it without clean data. Three takes. One conversation about what government services actually look like when they work. Featuring Santi Garces is Chief Information Officer at the City of Boston - leading a team that spans user researchers, designers, economists, and policy analysts, and currently building open-source MCP infrastructure to connect AI tools with city services at scale. Bob Leek is Chief Information Officer at Clark County, Nevada - overseeing technology for the 11th largest county in the country, home to Las Vegas, with a strategy centered on helping large diverse communities thrive through people, process, and technology solutions such as AI governance, and drone-assisted emergency response. Carrie Smith is Chief Technology and Innovation Strategist at Dell Technologies - covering the East and tracking modernization trends across state and local government nationwide, with a focus on helping cities start with the right problem instead of the right product. Timestamps (2:00) Boston's AI-powered website search - 400% improvement in positive feedback, built in-house (7:00) Clark County's AI framework - AI as a "how," not a "what," built around four constituent personas (12:00) Dell's field view - why clean data has to come before any AI solution(17:00) Santi's beef with "modernization" - why small, continuous investment beats the big bang approach (20:00) Philadelphia's illegal dumping problem - how a vendor conversation became a drones-as-first-responders pitch (25:00) Clark County drones - 30 to 60 second emergency response combined with ShotSpotter (31:00) Boston's MCP server - building open source infrastructure so AI tools can talk to city services reliably (35:00) The pace problem - Bob on why the universe shifting every 17 days is the CIO's real challenge (39:00) Leadership and resilience - Carrie on stage three breast cancer, Bob on internal promotions, Santi on growing up in Colombia Listen now: YouTube x Apple x Spotify Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways you can connect with TechTables: 1. 📬 The TechTables Newsletter Thanks for reading TechTables! Get early access to new episodes, insights, upcoming events, and more — straight to your inbox. Join now: https://www.techtables.com/ 2. 🤝 Are you a local government CIO who wants to become a better leader? Check out our high-trust, vendor-free peer group built for local government CIOs tackling real challenges, honest conversations, and an authentic desire to become a better leader — our next retreat is September 23rd-25th in Denver! Apply to Join → https://techtables.com/communities-local-government 3. 🤝 The Better Together Virtual Series The narrative-driven series bringing together industry partners and public sector CXOs. Discover the compelling stories that unfold when we stop working in silos and start building together. »»» Email joe@techtables.com to learn more. Platinum Newsletter Sponsor: Missed out on Info-Tech LIVE in New Orleans? No worries, you can join TechTables & Info-Tech Research Group at Info-Tech LIVE 2026 - Las Vegas (June 9 - 11, 2026)! Gold Newsletter Sponsor: SentinelOne - Learn how SentinelOne empowers this state to stay secure. Verizon Frontline -The advanced network that keeps first responders connected when it matters most. Carahsoft - The Trusted Public Sector IT Solutions Provider™, supports government agencies and education/healthcare markets. Contact your Carahsoft rep today to access special discount pricing exclusively through the TechTables + Carahsoft partnership! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techtables.substack.com
