When Mike Manikowski, the economic development director of Ontario County, N.Y., goes on business retention or recruitment calls, there's one person he rarely leaves behind: the county's CIO.

Manikowski and CIO Ed Hemminger work as a team to promote a technology-driven development strategy for the county, which is located in western New York's Finger Lakes region.

"He's a very collaborative guy, very enthusiastic, and he's a shaper of public opinion," Manikowski said about Hemminger. "He'll go speak to any community group, whether its four people or 400."

To boost broadband infrastructure in underserved parts of the county, Hemminger and Manikowski led county efforts to create a fiber ring. The county established and helped fund the nonprofit Finger Lakes Regional Telecommunications Development Corp. -- with Hemminger as CEO -- to build the fiber ring by 2010 and lease extra capacity to other entities.

Ontario County's story is still a rarity. A CIO seldom becomes the region's chief technology officer -- a de facto role Hemminger took -- who plans how infrastructure investments can boost economic development. But some experts believe there's a leadership vacuum waiting to be filled by confident and ambitious public-sector CIOs.

"More economic development organizations are noting the importance of a strong regional IT infrastructure, but some of it is just lip service," said Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in Washington, D.C. Atkinson said CIOs "should be up on the bridge, not down in the engine room."

The space is available, and there's nobody better situated than a public-sector CIO to fill it, Atkinson said. IT executives should avoid a narrow focus -- like deciding which server software version to use -- and instead pursue a broader vision of what IT can contribute to their jurisdictions' goals. Too many CIOs have defined their role narrowly, he said. "They tend to think of e-gov as internal to government, rather than in terms of e-society, and there is a big, big difference."

Hemminger agrees. "It is up to CIOs to take the initiative and get involved," he said. "When you see economic-development start to thrive, you get a warm, fuzzy feeling because you know you are starting to really make a difference in the big-picture stuff, and that is a fun thing to do."

SmartRiverside

Two years ago, Riverside, Calif., Mayor Ron Loveridge didn't hesitate asking city CIO Steve Reneker to become the executive director of SmartRiverside, a technology-focused economic-development effort.

"You walk into Steve's office, and there is a picture of him at the summit of Mount Everest," Loveridge said. "It's a perfect illustration of his incredible ability and determination to get things done."

Launched a decade ago, SmartRiverside has two primary objectives. The first is digital inclusion -- getting computers, Internet access and technology training to 20,000 families by 2010. The second is to engage technology business CEOs in how the city can foster the local, high-tech economy.

Loveridge thought Reneker was a natural fit to lead the effort because he made the commitment to a citywide Wi-Fi initiative and previously worked for Dell.

Two years ago, a local high-technology task force outlined how it thought SmartRiverside could help retain and recruit high-tech companies. Reneker sees his job as addressing its suggested actions, including implementing wireless technology citywide.

The toughest aspect of the executive director role, Reneker said, is balancing it with his full-time job as CIO. He estimates that he spends 50 percent of his time on SmartRiverside. He has made that possible by hiring a strong lieutenant in chief technology officer (