Economic Development
The impact of the current recession on Montgomery County has been exacerbated by the County's failure to attract and retain a broader base of employers. I don't need a study or a task force to tell me that Fairfax County is outpacing Montgomery County in job growth. All I need to do is drive to Dulles Airport and look at the signage of the major national and international companies along the way.
Our County Executive's failure to provide a vision for the business future of this County has prompted the County Council to propose the creation of a "business development corporation" to do the job for him by issuing a "report" after the November election. The time to begin to act is long past. It's time for new leadership.
We need to embrace the national and multinational employers who already call Montgomery County home in order to deepen their commitment to stay here. We need to attract new businesses with global reach. And we need to encourage the expansion of existing small local business and nurture local startup companies.
The first and most important step in achieving these goals is to establish an Office of Economic Development that is second to none. That office must be led by someone with a proven track record in attracting major corporations to major metropolitan areas. Our County Executive never even thought to seek out such an individual to run his Department of Economic Development. Instead he appointed former County Councilmember Steven Silverman to that post. Together Mr. Silverman and our County Executive failed to bring Northrop Grumman to Montgomery County, and have focused instead on luring a Costco to Wheaton by offering to pay Costco $4 million to locate there. We can no longer afford such a parochial and low-budget "vision" for our County's economic development.
You cannot lure new business, and you cannot retain existing business, if you treat business as a personal piggy bank. Our County Executive stood by as the County's budget deficit grew to $1 billion. To fill the hole, he doubled the County's energy tax overnight. No sensible individual would expect businesses mired in a recession to absorb such a sudden and dramatic cost increase. Such actions only reinforce the perception that Montgomery County is not "business friendly," and undermine our business development efforts.
As County Executive I will create a world class Office of Economic Development. I will make it my priority to find out why businesses bypass Montgomery County -- something the leadership of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce has been unable to get this County Executive to do. And we will move forward together.
