If you haven’t seen it yet, take a few minutes to read Virginia Business’ Dec. 29 Web posting headlined: POLITICAL ROUNDTABLE: Transportation still a chief concern. The publication invited five prominent Virginia observers of state politics to comment on the recent Governor’s election and the upcoming legislative session. A summary of their comments is provided in this posting.
Some of the roundtable discussion concentrated on economic development, which makes sense given the current state of the economy and Governor-elect McDonnell’s campaign focus on the creation of jobs. More importantly, the state of VEDP’s marketing budget was discussed, which until now has gotten lost in the weeds of state incentives and other economic development details.
Don’t misunderstand—state incentives are an important tool for the Commonwealth to utilize in winning economic development deals—and jobs—for Virginia. But if we can’t market Virginia to corporate decision-makers and bring attention to the fact that Virginia is the “Best State for Business,” state incentives will never see the light of day. Simply put, resources for media advertising and outreach for prospect events and meetings need to be deployed to adequately tell Virginia’s compelling story.
Hugh Keogh gets it. The President and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce—and VEDP board member—conveyed the message during the Virginia Business roundtable.
Another topic of discussion was Virginia’s ability to maintain the Forbes.com “Best State for Business” ranking, a title the Commonwealth has held for the last four years. To echo what roundtable participants Whitt Clement (former state transportation secretary and partner in state government relations, Hunton & Williams) and Ben Dendy (former senior staff member to two Virginia governors and president of Richmond-based lobbying firm Vectre Corp) so eloquently stated, it ain’t likely under current conditions. While we’ve got a strategic location, global access and world-class higher education on our side, these factors are a result of lawmakers’ willingness to make big-picture investments in Virginia.
To maintain our leadership position and get even better by attracting more quality jobs that Virginia needs and deserves, the big-picture investments need to continue. With a strong focus on transportation, education and economic development, Virginia might just turn its economy around and snag that “Best State for Business” title once again.