11/14 Blog Topic: Three Takeaways from the California Economic Summit
November 14, 2019
On November 7-8, I attended the California Economic Summit, a 2-day conference of public, private, and civic leaders in California. The event was hosted by California Forward with a purpose of developing key policy positions and action plans that will lead to sustainable economic development across the whole of California. This year, the event took place in Fresno, which was significant given the focus of Governor Gavin Newsom on inland California regions, which haven’t shared in the economic success of the State, especially since the Great Recession. Many senior State and local elected officials were in attendance, including newly appointed Chief Service Officer Josh Fryday (formerly on the Novato City Council) and Marin County Supervisors Damon Connelly and Dennis Rodoni.
During the Summit, participants discussed how to approach California’s biggest problems through a set of concurrent sessions on “Housing, Mobility, and Connectivity”, “Lifelong Learning”, “Prosperous Economies, Thriving Workers”, and “Ecosystem Vitality and Working Landscapes.” As you might imagine, engaging on these issues with hundreds of peers yielded rich conversations and debate. At the end of all of it, three things stood out to me for Marin as these issues are addressed:
The State is encouraging regional collaboration in economic development. In September 2018, then Governor Jerry Brown vetoed AB 2596, which would have required a statewide economic development strategy. Fast forward to May 2019 and current Governor Gavin Newsom introduces the “Regions Rise Together” initiative, prioritizing regional solutions and strategies for more inclusive economic growth in the State. The Summit directly supported that initiative by emphasizing regional solutions and sharing examples of regional success stories. What does this mean for Marin?
First, Marin should ensure participation in regional dialogues, both in the public and private sector channels. Although our local government officials do engage regionally through entities like the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), among others, businesses, as well as some of our non-profits on the front lines of difficult socio-economic issues, also need to engage regionally.
Mike Blakeley, CEO
Marin Economic Forum
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