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Watchdog Panel Applauds State GIO's Appointment

The Little Hoover Commission pointedly called for creation of the state GIO position in a report last fall. This week's announcement that Carlos Isaac Cabrera had been named to the new position "could not have been more timely," the commission chairman said Tuesday.

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The announcement this week of Carlos Isaac Cabrera’s appointment to the newly created position of state geographic information officer (GIO) “could not have been more timely,” says the chairman of the state’s Little Hoover Commission (LHC), which has been advocating for the creation of just such a role since last fall.

Carlos Isaac Cabrera, most recently the geographic information system (GIS) administrator for Contra Costa County, started in his new statewide role this week with the California Department of Technology (CDT). He has not been made available for comment by the department.

Cabrera is a leading champion of GIS technology statewide and is the chairman of the California GIS Council, a nonprofit made up of GIS professionals that describes itself as “an advisory body to members of its constituencies, the State Geographic Information Officer, and agencies and groups that develop and implement geospatial initiatives, policies, and standards, by providing recommendations, best practices, and expertise.”

The appointment of Cabrera follows an October report by the LHC, Mapping a Strategy for GIS, which urged Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature to create a state GIO position to oversee and advance the use of the technology across departments.

California named its first state GIO in 2009 and created a GIS program within the state CIO’s office. But as momentum for that initiative abated, the role was ultimately combined with that of the state’s Chief Technology Innovation Officer, Scott Gregory – until the new GIO position was created and the state opened recruitment in February.

That decision was applauded Tuesday by Pedro Nava, chairman of the Little Hoover Commission.

“We congratulate the administration on filling this important appointment,” Nava said in a statement. “It could not be more timely, as GIS has proven itself a powerful tool for state leaders, particularly in the past weeks and months in tracking the daily impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our state.”

Nava was specific in his praise for the choice of Cabrera, a frequent conference speaker and evangelist for GIS technology. Cabrera’s GIO role includes serving as manager of data and geospatial services. 

“We called for a dedicated, full-time GIO position, and we’re pleased to see Mr. Cabrera’s appointment,” Nava said. “Though we hope to see the position elevated as outlined in our report, we are encouraged by this action and wish Mr. Cabrera the best as he steps into this critical role.”

The commission’s October report called for the state GIO position to be elevated to the level of gubernatorial appointment, as well as the creation of a GIS Advisory Council and a California Geographic Information Office within CDT.

Nava advocates legislation introduced Feb. 12 by Assemblymember Chad Mayes, R-Rancho Mirage, who serves on the Hoover Commission, that would codify those changes in state GIS governance. The bill is in the Assembly’s Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee.

Citing the commission’s October report, Nava added: “The Commission also called for an increase in the state’s capacity to employ GIS to assess where state spending occurs, how the delivery of services varies geographically, and how policy outcomes vary by region. Achieving this … would require the state designate and empower a full-time, dedicated State GIO to serve as California’s GIS leader, responsible for coordinating the state’s GIS projects, promulgating standards for data collection and sharing, and managing shared data resources.”

Dennis Noone is Executive Editor of Industry Insider. He is a career journalist, having worked at small-town newspapers and major metropolitan dailies including USA Today in Washington, D.C.