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Cantrell aide’s ‘unbelievable’ testimony convinced no one MANY PUBLIC SERVANTS LEVERAGE THEIR GOVERNMENTAL EXPERIENCE into
private sector lucre, but most have the patience to leave public service first. Jonathan Rhodes apparently is a man in a hurry. As Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s director of utilities, Rhodes is literally a department of one. On the side, he represents himself to big tech companies and potential investors (the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive, Rhodes admits) as an expert on “smart cities” technology that can bring low-cost Internet access to the underserved masses — and earn gazillions in profits for investors. To that end, Rhodes and another Cantrell aide, IT advisor Christopher Wolff, formed a Delaware corporation called Verge Internet Inc. A company profile touts Verge as “disrupting the outdated model of Internet service providers” — and solicits $5 million from investors, even as both men work full-time at City Hall on a local smart cities program. In truth, Verge has no client list, no assets, no employees, nor even a bank account. Rhodes admitted that much and more under oath before the City Council on April 27. His testimony was compelled by council subpoena and kicked off a formal council investigation into the local smart cities program. During three hours of intense questioning, Rhodes made other interesting admissions. • He provided free assistance to Qualcomm as the tech giant drafted a smart cities proposal to the City of Los Angeles. • He arranged a Jan. 5, 2021 meeting of Cantrell, Wolff, and representatives of Qualcomm and tech consultant Ignite Cities to discuss the scope of a smart cities project in New Orleans. Two days after that meeting, Ignite Cities managing partner George Burciaga emailed meeting participants (including Rhodes and Wolff) seeking another meeting “to review procurement requirements and other related topics.” • On Jan. 21, Rhodes emailed Burciaga a draft of the city’s
PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER / T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E
Jonathan Rhodes, director of the Mayor’s Office of Utilities. “Scope of Services for a comprehensive smart city program,” asking for his “insight.” That was three months before Team Cantrell issued a formal request for proposals for the smart cities contract. • Rhodes initially claimed he played no role in drafting the bid specs, but later admitted he and Wolff did play a role. As utilities director, Rhodes would oversee the smart cities program. As luck would have it (wink-wink, nudge-nudge), the QualcommIgnite Cities consortium scored highest and inked a deal with Cantrell. Second-place finisher Cox Communications cried foul, setting off a spate of revelations that led to the council investigation. On April 25, two days before Rhodes testified about his “pro bono” dealings with Qualcomm and other potential conflicts of interest, the consortium abruptly pulled out of the deal, citing “significant uncertainty surrounding the future of the project.” Unlike Rhodes, Qualcomm knew when to cut bait. Rhodes, an attorney, appeared before the council without counsel. District B Council member Lesli Harris, also an attorney, later told me Rhodes’ testimony was “literally unbelievable.” District C Council member Freddie King III, another attorney, pointedly asked Rhodes, “Do you at all see how this looks, publicly, how this looks bad?” “I do,” said Rhodes. That much, at least, was believable.
