Latest with Latoya and Ignite (smart cities)

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Key to the city: How a ‘pro bono’ smart cities consultancy and its partners in finance and tech worked to bring a municipal ID program to New Orleans

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Documents made public as part of the council investigation show that Ignite Cities was also a central part of bringing Mastercard and MoCaFi to the city of New Orleans. And they show that the Mastercard deal has many of the same potential issues at the heart of the smart cities controversy.

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Ignite first arranged for Mastercard to pitch Mayor LaToya Cantrell in Honolulu during the 2019 US Conference of Mayors. Mastercard was a sponsor of the event, and used the platform to announce the launch of its City Key program — an attempt to get cities to adopt the exact type of card New Orleans is now building.

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That introduction led to a series of meetings between Mastercard and city officials. August 2019 meeting notes indicate that the city verbally agreed to pursue Mastercard’s new program. That was nearly a year before the city launched any public procurement process for a “Multi-Purpose Identification Card.”

By the time the city put out a request for bids, in July 2020, officials had already met repeatedly with Mastercard and MoCaFi to discuss the project. According to city purchasing records, MoCaFi was the only bidder.

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In 2021 for example, as the city, Mastercard — an Ignite Cities partner, according to its website — and MoCaFi were negotiating several contracts, Ignite Cities CEO George Burciaga introduced New Orleans officials to City Clerk of Chicago Anna Valencia. Valencia is married to Ignite Cities’ managing director Reyahd Kazmi. Valencia helped implement a similar CityKey system in Chicago, and arranged a call with New Orleans officials to advise on how to implement it, emails show. (Valencia’s office did not respond to requests for comment.)

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“In December 2021, as it was being negotiated, someone — it’s not clear who — made a note on the draft agreement related to its “non-solicitation statement,” which says that the companies involved didn’t hire any outside individual or company to help them win the contract.

“As George Burciaga and IgniteCities are involved in this project, have they received any fees related to the project?”

Although that CEA wasn’t signed, the one CEA the city has signed with Mastercard does have similar language.

“FTNO, Mastervard and MoCaFi swear that they have not employed or retained any company or person, other than a bona fide employee working solely for it, to solicit or secure this agreement,” it says.

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