Technology adviser quits unexpectedly
Says those against change have made him 'lightning rod'
The Romney administration's chief technology adviser, who spearheaded an initiative toward an ''open data" format for the state's computer systems, resigned unexpectedly yesterday, saying he had become a ''lightning rod" for those seeking to slow down or stop the changes that have gained worldwide attention.
Peter J. Quinn, who has headed the Informational Technology division since 2002, said in an e-mail to his staff that he was resigning to avoid undercutting the drive to adopt the initiative by 2007.
''It is also readily apparent that I have become a lightning rod with regard to any IT initiative. Even the smallest initiatives are being mitigated or stopped by some of the most unlikely and often uninformed parties," Quinn wrote.
''I view these circumstances as quite troubling because the good work laid out by the IT Commission is slowly being strangled and brought to a halt. And the last thing I can let happen is my presence be the major contributing factor marginalizing the good work of ITD and the entire IT community," he wrote.
Eric Fehrnstrom, director of communications for Governor Mitt Romney, yesterday confirmed that Quinn had submitted his resignation, effective Jan. 12. Fehrnstrom, however, rebutted Quinn's strong implication that the administration was backing away from the recommendations, issued on Aug. 31 and announced by former Administration and Finance Secretary Eric Kriss, that the executive branch was moving toward open format software.
''We are moving steadily towards that deadline and we expect no changes in those rules," Fehrnstrom said. Under the Aug. 31 initiative, the state would require all documents produced by the state's executive branch to be stored in a new, universal computer format, called OpenDocument.
In his electronic message to his staff, Quinn also said that he had weathered ''some very difficult and tumultuous times" recently.
Quinn had been the subject of a review by his current boss, Administration and Finance Secretary Thomas H. Trimarco, following a report in November that Quinn had failed to fill out the required state forms to allow his appearances at numerous out-of-state conventions in 2005, where his visits were, for the most part, paid for by convention organizers.
Trimarco's review found that Quinn had authorization to make the trips and had not violated any conflict of interest provisions.
