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Jan 2, 2019 · 20m · a16z

a16z Podcast | Government Transparency Powered by Software

Zach Buchman · 8m spoken Michael Kasperzak · 5m spoken Tom Reichert · 4m spoken
0:00 / 0:00
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In this episode of the a16z Podcast, Tom Reichert hosts OpenGov CEO Zach Bookman and former Mountain View Mayor Michael Kasperzak to discuss how cloud software and open data are modernizing local government operations. They examine the institutional barriers to public sector tech adoption, the role of automated workflows, and how financial transparency builds civic trust.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →

The host as informed peer 2.5 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 0.5 The host pushing back 0.8
05100:0010:0020:002:27–6:28 · The host as informed peer 2/10 Technology Adoption and Challenges in Local Government Host Tom Reichert frames the discussion around tech adoption and rising tech-native millennials in public service. The guests explain real-world municipal challenges, such as Mountain View's lack of a central CIO until recently and how OpenGov helps mayors present complex budgets.6:28–9:28 · The host as informed peer 2/10 Practical Use Cases and Efficiency Gains Tom asks about long-term network effects and efficiency gains. Zach lists concrete use cases like rapid police salary reporting and FOIA response streamlining, while Michael confirms how software reduces expensive legal/IT overhead.9:28–11:55 · The host as informed peer 2/10 The City of the Future and Cross-Government Benchmarking Tom prompts the guests to envision the city of the future and potential government APIs. Zach highlights cross-government benchmarking across 50 to 150 cities, comparing municipal finance metrics to startup operational benchmarking.11:55–16:34 · The host as informed peer 4/10 Bridging the Digital Divide and Managing Laggards Tom challenges the smooth tech rollout premise by bringing up digital divide laggards and comparing them to Windows XP users who cannot be 'fired' as customers. Michael and Zach clarify why government moves slowly due to public hearing requirements and council consensus.2:27–6:28 · Guest teaching 2/10 Technology Adoption and Challenges in Local Government Host Tom Reichert frames the discussion around tech adoption and rising tech-native millennials in public service. The guests explain real-world municipal challenges, such as Mountain View's lack of a central CIO until recently and how OpenGov helps mayors present complex budgets.6:28–9:28 · Guest teaching 3/10 Practical Use Cases and Efficiency Gains Tom asks about long-term network effects and efficiency gains. Zach lists concrete use cases like rapid police salary reporting and FOIA response streamlining, while Michael confirms how software reduces expensive legal/IT overhead.9:28–11:55 · Guest teaching 3/10 The City of the Future and Cross-Government Benchmarking Tom prompts the guests to envision the city of the future and potential government APIs. Zach highlights cross-government benchmarking across 50 to 150 cities, comparing municipal finance metrics to startup operational benchmarking.11:55–16:34 · Guest teaching 4/10 Bridging the Digital Divide and Managing Laggards Tom challenges the smooth tech rollout premise by bringing up digital divide laggards and comparing them to Windows XP users who cannot be 'fired' as customers. Michael and Zach clarify why government moves slowly due to public hearing requirements and council consensus.2:27–6:28 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Technology Adoption and Challenges in Local Government Host Tom Reichert frames the discussion around tech adoption and rising tech-native millennials in public service. The guests explain real-world municipal challenges, such as Mountain View's lack of a central CIO until recently and how OpenGov helps mayors present complex budgets.6:28–9:28 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Practical Use Cases and Efficiency Gains Tom asks about long-term network effects and efficiency gains. Zach lists concrete use cases like rapid police salary reporting and FOIA response streamlining, while Michael confirms how software reduces expensive legal/IT overhead.9:28–11:55 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The City of the Future and Cross-Government Benchmarking Tom prompts the guests to envision the city of the future and potential government APIs. Zach highlights cross-government benchmarking across 50 to 150 cities, comparing municipal finance metrics to startup operational benchmarking.11:55–16:34 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Bridging the Digital Divide and Managing Laggards Tom challenges the smooth tech rollout premise by bringing up digital divide laggards and comparing them to Windows XP users who cannot be 'fired' as customers. Michael and Zach clarify why government moves slowly due to public hearing requirements and council consensus.2:27–6:28 · The host pushing back 1/10 Technology Adoption and Challenges in Local Government Host Tom Reichert frames the discussion around tech adoption and rising tech-native millennials in public service. The guests explain real-world municipal challenges, such as Mountain View's lack of a central CIO until recently and how OpenGov helps mayors present complex budgets.6:28–9:28 · The host pushing back 0/10 Practical Use Cases and Efficiency Gains Tom asks about long-term network effects and efficiency gains. Zach lists concrete use cases like rapid police salary reporting and FOIA response streamlining, while Michael confirms how software reduces expensive legal/IT overhead.9:28–11:55 · The host pushing back 0/10 The City of the Future and Cross-Government Benchmarking Tom prompts the guests to envision the city of the future and potential government APIs. Zach highlights cross-government benchmarking across 50 to 150 cities, comparing municipal finance metrics to startup operational benchmarking.11:55–16:34 · The host pushing back 2/10 Bridging the Digital Divide and Managing Laggards Tom challenges the smooth tech rollout premise by bringing up digital divide laggards and comparing them to Windows XP users who cannot be 'fired' as customers. Michael and Zach clarify why government moves slowly due to public hearing requirements and council consensus.

speaking balance: gold is the host, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%0:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%3:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%3:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%6:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%6:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%9:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%9:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%12:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%12:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%15:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%15:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%18:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%18:00 · the host 0% · guest 100%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 14:21 Reframing Anti-Corruption and Budgeting Dynamics

Zach gently rejects the term 'anti-corruption', reframing municipal budgeting around structured transparency and consensus decision-making across council forms of government.

 Hardest push from the host ▶ 11:49 Challenging Tech Adoption with the Windows XP Analogy

Tom pushes back against optimistic tech adoption curves, reminding the guests that governments cannot fire non-tech-savvy citizens the way Microsoft sunsetted Windows XP.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 13:46 Explaining Why Government Cannot Move at Corporate Speed

Michael educates Tom on the fundamental friction in public governance, explaining how public trust, mandatory open hearings, and citizen input naturally slow down decision-making.

 The host holds their own ▶ 15:45 Framing Cloud Tech as Automated Institutional Checks

Tom asserts host expertise by synthesizing how modern cloud software can directly automate institutional checks and balances to reduce bureaucracy without sacrificing oversight.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicThe host as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementThe host pushing backWhy
Technology Adoption and Challenges in Local Government 2211 Host Tom Reichert frames the discussion around tech adoption and rising tech-native millennials in public service. The guests explain real-world municipal challenges, such as Mountain View's lack of a central CIO until recently and how OpenGov helps mayors present complex budgets.
Practical Use Cases and Efficiency Gains 2300 Tom asks about long-term network effects and efficiency gains. Zach lists concrete use cases like rapid police salary reporting and FOIA response streamlining, while Michael confirms how software reduces expensive legal/IT overhead.
The City of the Future and Cross-Government Benchmarking 2300 Tom prompts the guests to envision the city of the future and potential government APIs. Zach highlights cross-government benchmarking across 50 to 150 cities, comparing municipal finance metrics to startup operational benchmarking.
Bridging the Digital Divide and Managing Laggards 4412 Tom challenges the smooth tech rollout premise by bringing up digital divide laggards and comparing them to Windows XP users who cannot be 'fired' as customers. Michael and Zach clarify why government moves slowly due to public hearing requirements and council consensus.

Statements from this episode (9)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bookman: Virtually All 90,000 US Municipalities Use 30-Year-Old Software
“Virtually every state and local government, there's about 90,000 in the United States, is using software that's often 30 years old.”
Zach Buchman Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 2:07
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Reichert: Digital-Native Millennials Enter Public Sector to Modernize Tech
“I think there's a rising group of millennials and people who are technology natives who are now entering the public sector and looking at how they can bring their expectations and knowledge of how to use technology into their roles there, and also as citizens.”
Tom Reichert Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 2:36
Opinion
Kasperzak: Institutional inertia in government is usually beneficial
“Things don't change quickly, which is usually a good thing if you really sit and think about it.”
Michael Kasperzak Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 3:28
Insight
Kasperzak: Government tech adoption fails from resource constraints, not employee resistance
“They don't resist technology change, but it's unfamiliar and nobody has time to get out and really spend time learning something new. And that resources are so limited in government, which is probably one of the biggest challenges.”
Michael Kasperzak Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 4:01
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kasperzak: Local governments face a surge in financial public records requests
“We're having an explosion of public records requests, and a lot of those are financially based”
Michael Kasperzak Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 8:45
Insight
Reichert: Governments Cannot Abandon Tech Laggards Like Private Corporations Do
“And unlike a corporation, you can't fire those as customers, right? You know, the people are still on Windows XP. You know, they want to upgrade, and Microsoft eventually says, you know what? You can't upgrade anymore. You got to move on. You can't do that if …”
Tom Reichert Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 12:08
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Kasperzak: Governments Will Phase Out Physical Mailings in Favor of Digital Delivery
“And at some point, I think governments large and small are just going to have to move on. And, you know, there will be alternative channels, but if you want to read it, you're going to have to come down to the library and read it. We're not going to mail it to…”
Michael Kasperzak Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 13:18
Insight
Kasperzak: Governments are inherently risk-averse due to public participation requirements
“Governments are by their nature risk averse. That's one thing. They have a huge public trust that they have to maintain, and there is a public process, you know, public hearings, the rights of people to come out and be heard, And that is a slow process, and it…”
Michael Kasperzak Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 13:48
Assertion Supported
Bookman: Most US local governments are run by administrators, not elected mayors
“Most governments in the country, mind you the, as the mayor noted, are run by professional administrators. It's only the largest governments in the country where the senior elected official, like the mayor, is also the CEO.”
Zach Buchman Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 14:24
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