ARTICLE
Earlier this week I joined nearly 60 statewide business and community leaders in a meeting with Governor Gavin Newsom and Lennie Mendonca, the Governor’s newly appointed Chief Economic and Business Advisor. The meeting took place in the conference room adjacent to the Governor’s office and the space in the Capital known as ‘The horseshoe’ — an assemblage of offices where the Governor’s team huddle daily to talk about state issues. The purpose of this meeting was not a flashy press conference announcing a new state program (those events will certainly follow in due time). This meeting was a conversation about California, the business climate in the state and Governor Newsom’s vision in the planning process. It was an honor to sit around the large conference table with the Governor, his economic advisors and the businesses leaders who represent large and small organizations, urban and rural, northern and southern California, the central valley, the Sierra Nevadas and yes, the central coast. I have attended many such ‘formal gatherings’ with past Governors of California and Governors from other states but I was most curious about the tone and level of this conversation with our new Governor in his 104th day on the job. I had the pleasure of visiting with Newsom in his other elected capacities dating back to his time as Mayor of San Francisco and as Lt. Governor so I have always been impressed with his magnitude of in-depth knowledge on a variety of issues. This meeting took on a special significance — a staring point for future engagement between the Governor and the statewide business community. After brief introductions by Mr. Mendonca, noting the timing of this meeting was in alliance to May — Small Business Month about the meeting, he turned the discussion to the Governor. Newsom is known for his non-stop delivery on issues from the mundane nuisance of the state budget process, to tax codes, relationship to the federal government and where the state can make improvements in efficiency, services and as the Governor stated, “An inclusionary economy for all.” A catchy phrase but what did he really mean by that statement? If anyone has met Newsom they know he is a policy wonk, likes to do a deep dive into the meat and potatoes of any issue and utilize the strengths and knowledge of others before declaring an official position. With an energized expression — he understands the mechanics of running businesses in California (he has started 23 and employed up to 700 people) and likes to ‘get under the hood’ of the budget numbers to fully explore the relationship between inclusionary economics and workforce development. There were no surprises at Tuesday’s meeting as he spoke about the annual state budget process (that he spent nearly two hours describing when it was announced in January). The upcoming May Revise of that budget is an important starting point as it further defines the actual taxes collected and where anticipated state revenue will be allocated. He did not give any final clues to the actual tax collection numbers but stated we are ‘in the range’ where we need to be to move this state forward. The boiler plate issues remain of critical concern to the Governor and his team - Housing is the #1 issue on his agenda with a deficiency of more than 3.5 million housing units statewide. His administration is working on alternatives to increase housing development through tax based incentives and other means. He noted that health care delivery is a necessary step of expanding access to care while lowering cost. His example of deducing pharma costs to patients is one effort in that area. Governor Newsom launched a series of first-in-the-nation actions to make health care more affordable for all Californians and to move the state closer toward the goal of health care for all. Those proposals included an executive order to create the nation’s biggest single-purchaser system for drugs and to, ultimately, allow all Californians and private employers to sit together at the bargaining table across from big drug companies when negotiating prescription drug prices. Full press release is here: newsom-announces-los-angeles-county-will-join-states-prescription-drug-single-purchaser-system/ With a pre-caution comment, he stated the uncertainty of our global climate swings from wetter winters, drier summers and dramatic weather changes — promoting California to get ahead of this issue as we head into another ‘fire season.’ He spent time early this past month in Butte and Lake County, Santa Rosa and Southern California where he described California took a major punch with those devastating fires that had economic impact. Last month, the Governor declared a state of emergency — governor-newsom-proclaims-state-of-emergency-on-wildfires, “The increasing wildfire risks we face as a state mean we simply can’t wait until a fire starts in order to start deploying emergency resources,” said Governor Newsom. “California needs sustained focus and immediate action in order to better protect our communities.” Linking fire disasters areas to an economic development recovery plan that uses ‘opportunity zones’ as a baseline of community support. During the hour plus interactive conversation with the Governor, we covered pressing topics of concern to business leaders — blue collar jobs in the Inland Empire, board-band access in rural California, the community college workforce pipeline, global strategies of getting more small businesses in the exportation of product into the global economy, and a comment about the educational longitudinal studies that show California students (at all grade levels) are falling further behind in providing the technical skills to our students to be productive workers in a 21st century economy. And finally as the meeting was about to close, the topic of the hour hit hard: Homelessness. A recent study released by the Bay Area Council (Homeless Report) shows that California is home to more than 130,000 homeless individuals (24% of the nation’s homeless population), statewide 54% of those homeless are unsheltered (in Santa Cruz County the percentage is 84%). The Governor noted with compassion: The World looks to California for innovative solutions — yet how do we react to the visible manifests of this problem where we have completely failed? In a statement released last week, the Governor stated, “I’ve long said regions rise together,” said Governor Newsom. “Cities, counties and continuums of care are all pivotal players in helping create long-term, sustained solutions to homelessness throughout this state. All of us need to have skin in the game, and we need to leverage every available resource — federal, state and local dollars — to fight homelessness across California.” (full statement here: san-bernardino-governor-newsom-meets-with-formerly-homeless-californians-highlights-statewide-homelessness-strategy/) The issue has no single answer, however, a regional approach is the best option where we can make progress. In conclusion, he suggested one idea that was brought to his attention is worthy of implementing: a motel conversation program in every community where under-utilized motel rooms are an immediate solution (between short term shelters and long term permanent housing). Some would ask, why spend time in Sacramento representing the Santa Cruz County region when pressing issues remain unanswered at home? My response: when we are in a bubble mindset we get locked into a decision making process based on narrowly defined ideas. Open minds take suggestions from others and find ways to collaboratively implement them. It is never too late to take advice and outside counsel. The meeting with the Governor, his economic advisors and 60 statewide business leaders was invaluable to our chamber members and our community.
Earlier this week I joined nearly 60 statewide business and community leaders in a meeting with Governor Gavin Newsom and Lennie Mendonca, the Governor’s newly appointed Chief Economic and Business Advisor. The meeting took place in the conference room adjacent to the Governor’s office and the space in the Capital known as ‘The horseshoe’ — an assemblage of offices where the Governor’s team huddle daily to talk about state issues. The purpose of this meeting was not a flashy press conference announcing a new state program (those events will certainly follow in due time). This meeting was a conversation about California, the business climate in the state and Governor Newsom’s vision in the planning process.
It was an honor to sit around the large conference table with the Governor, his economic advisors and the businesses leaders who represent large and small organizations, urban and rural, northern and southern California, the central valley, the Sierra Nevadas and yes, the central coast. I have attended many such ‘formal gatherings’ with past Governors of California and Governors from other states but I was most curious about the tone and level of this conversation with our new Governor in his 104th day on the job. I had the pleasure of visiting with Newsom in his other elected capacities dating back to his time as Mayor of San Francisco and as Lt. Governor so I have always been impressed with his magnitude of in-depth knowledge on a variety of issues. This meeting took on a special significance — a staring point for future engagement between the Governor and the statewide business community.
After brief introductions by Mr. Mendonca, noting the timing of this meeting was in alliance to May — Small Business Month about the meeting, he turned the discussion to the Governor. Newsom is known for his non-stop delivery on issues from the mundane nuisance of the state budget process, to tax codes, relationship to the federal government and where the state can make improvements in efficiency, services and as the Governor stated, “An inclusionary economy for all.” A catchy phrase but what did he really mean by that statement? If anyone has met Newsom they know he is a policy wonk, likes to do a deep dive into the meat and potatoes of any issue and utilize the strengths and knowledge of others before declaring an official position. With an energized expression — he understands the mechanics of running businesses in California (he has started 23 and employed up to 700 people) and likes to ‘get under the hood’ of the budget numbers to fully explore the relationship between inclusionary economics and workforce development. There were no surprises at Tuesday’s meeting as he spoke about the annual state budget process (that he spent nearly two hours describing when it was announced in January). The upcoming May Revise of that budget is an important starting point as it further defines the actual taxes collected and where anticipated state revenue will be allocated. He did not give any final clues to the actual tax collection numbers but stated we are ‘in the range’ where we need to be to move this state forward.
The boiler plate issues remain of critical concern to the Governor and his team - Housing is the #1 issue on his agenda with a deficiency of more than 3.5 million housing units statewide. His administration is working on alternatives to increase housing development through tax based incentives and other means.
He noted that health care delivery is a necessary step of expanding access to care while lowering cost. His example of deducing pharma costs to patients is one effort in that area. Governor Newsom launched a series of first-in-the-nation actions to make health care more affordable for all Californians and to move the state closer toward the goal of health care for all. Those proposals included an executive order to create the nation’s biggest single-purchaser system for drugs and to, ultimately, allow all Californians and private employers to sit together at the bargaining table across from big drug companies when negotiating prescription drug prices. Full press release is here: newsom-announces-los-angeles-county-will-join-states-prescription-drug-single-purchaser-system/
With a pre-caution comment, he stated the uncertainty of our global climate swings from wetter winters, drier summers and dramatic weather changes — promoting California to get ahead of this issue as we head into another ‘fire season.’ He spent time early this past month in Butte and Lake County, Santa Rosa and Southern California where he described California took a major punch with those devastating fires that had economic impact. Last month, the Governor declared a state of emergency — governor-newsom-proclaims-state-of-emergency-on-wildfires, “The increasing wildfire risks we face as a state mean we simply can’t wait until a fire starts in order to start deploying emergency resources,” said Governor Newsom. “California needs sustained focus and immediate action in order to better protect our communities.” Linking fire disasters areas to an economic development recovery plan that uses ‘opportunity zones’ as a baseline of community support.
During the hour plus interactive conversation with the Governor, we covered pressing topics of concern to business leaders — blue collar jobs in the Inland Empire, board-band access in rural California, the community college workforce pipeline, global strategies of getting more small businesses in the exportation of product into the global economy, and a comment about the educational longitudinal studies that show California students (at all grade levels) are falling further behind in providing the technical skills to our students to be productive workers in a 21st century economy.
And finally as the meeting was about to close, the topic of the hour hit hard: Homelessness. A recent study released by the Bay Area Council (Homeless Report) shows that California is home to more than 130,000 homeless individuals (24% of the nation’s homeless population), statewide 54% of those homeless are unsheltered (in Santa Cruz County the percentage is 84%). The Governor noted with compassion: The World looks to California for innovative solutions — yet how do we react to the visible manifests of this problem where we have completely failed?
In a statement released last week, the Governor stated, “I’ve long said regions rise together,” said Governor Newsom. “Cities, counties and continuums of care are all pivotal players in helping create long-term, sustained solutions to homelessness throughout this state. All of us need to have skin in the game, and we need to leverage every available resource — federal, state and local dollars — to fight homelessness across California.” (full statement here: san-bernardino-governor-newsom-meets-with-formerly-homeless-californians-highlights-statewide-homelessness-strategy/)
The issue has no single answer, however, a regional approach is the best option where we can make progress. In conclusion, he suggested one idea that was brought to his attention is worthy of implementing: a motel conversation program in every community where under-utilized motel rooms are an immediate solution (between short term shelters and long term permanent housing).
Some would ask, why spend time in Sacramento representing the Santa Cruz County region when pressing issues remain unanswered at home? My response: when we are in a bubble mindset we get locked into a decision making process based on narrowly defined ideas. Open minds take suggestions from others and find ways to collaboratively implement them. It is never too late to take advice and outside counsel. The meeting with the Governor, his economic advisors and 60 statewide business leaders was invaluable to our chamber members and our community.