Mayor Scott cancels plans to travel to Spain
Two top administration officials are in Barcelona for the Smart City Expo, but the mayor will not be joining them
Above: City Administrator Faith Leach’s stay in Barcelona will cost taxpayers $3,222. (Instagram)
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, scheduled to appear at a trade show and meeting in Spain, won’t be going there after all.
His appearance at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona on November 3-5 was listed by the event’s organizer, Fira Barcelona.
But the mayor’s press office said today that “Mayor Scott will not be traveling to Spain to attend the Smart City Expo.” No reason was given for the change in plans.
City Administrator Faith P. Leach and Chief Data Officer Dartanion Swift-Williams are already at the exposition and are scheduled to return to the U.S. on Saturday.
The Board of Estimates is set tomorrow to approve $6,250 for their travel, lodging and meals.
Baltimore is also notable as one of three American cities displaying exhibits at the expo. The other two are North Miami Beach, FL, and Peachtree Corners, GA.
Chief Data Officer Dartanion Swift-Williams and BELOW Brandon Scott listed online as a “high-level representative” at the November 3-5 event. (Facebook, Fira Barcelona)
Promoting Agentic AI
The goal of the gathering is to bring mayors, global companies and nonprofits together to “move cities toward a better future by transforming urban ambition into solutions, partnerships and collaboration opportunities.”
The event claims to attract over 26,000 attendees and host mayors from more than 1,000 cities.
Much of this year’s focus is on the benefits of agentic AI, or autonomous or semi-autonomous artificial intelligence systems that can handle government tasks, such as tax collection and traffic signaling, with little or no human supervision.
• Mayor Scott ends a week’s stay in Spain at a Bloomberg conference (4/30/26)
According to the BOE agenda, Scott was planning to join Swift-Williams, who leads the Mayor’s Office of Performance and Innovation, at the Barcelona conference “to promote city-based solutions, agentic AI and to foster partnerships with like-minded organizations in support of creating efficient and sustainable cities.”
Swift-Williams is still scheduled to deliver a talk on “Baltimore’s Vision for Turning Data into Better Lives.”
Leach is listed as a member of a panel that will discuss “The Livable City: Inclusion First, Prosperity Follows.”
Deputy Mayor Letitia Dzirasa will be abroad at a lengthy residency at WHO. (baltimorecity.gov)
Two Weeks in Switzerland
Also on the BOE agenda tomorrow is a travel request by Deputy Mayor of Equity, Health and Human Services Letitia Dzirasa to participate in a two-week residency at the World Health Organization’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
A pediatrician, the former Baltimore health commissioner will review with WHO experts best practices to “strengthen technical expertise related to the prevention of noncommunicable diseases and injuries” and to “identify strategies that can inform Baltimore City’s health planning, policies and initiatives.”
The trip is part of WHO’s Healthy Cities Residency program.
The $8,120 cost for the November 7-21 stay will be borne by the organization, according to city records.