An Economic Development Plan for Douglas County By GARY LEIF Douglas County lags behind the rest of Oregon and the nation in recovery from the Great Recession. People struggle to find well-paying jobs and young families are leaving for better opportunities elsewhere. We must -- and can -- change that. Here are the outlines of a plan I believe will work. The Douglas County economy will strengthen and grow if we focus on: (1) supporting key sectors that can bring money into the county and keep it here, (2) creating a safe and supportive business environment, and (3) offering incentives, education, and technology to attract businesses to relocate here or, for businesses already here, to grow and expand. I believe we should focus on the following economic sectors: manufacturing, education, hospitality, and government. For existing manufacturing businesses, I propose to provide the maximum support possible for their current and future operations. For example, I believe we should work tirelessly to sustain a significant and reliable timber supply from public lands for loggers, mills, and wood-based manufacturers. For other export-oriented manufacturers, such as Orenco, Umpqua Dairy, and FCC Commercial Furniture, the County should support them to overcome barriers to business expansion and job-creation. For education, we should strongly support higher education institutions that help stabilize our economy with well-paying jobs. These could be the growth of Umpqua Community College into a four-year college with on-site and distance-learning capability, further development of a medical-education center providing professional certification for the medical-services workforce, or the creation of a research and development center in Douglas County, one focused on wood- and other natural products. For the hospitality sector, we should make Douglas County a premier destination for tourists from around the world, as well as a safe and comfortable place for retirees. I want Douglas County to have our share of these billion-dollar markets. We should begin our tourism efforts by bringing together the many service providers we already have throughout the county—lodging and camping businesses, winemakers and brewers, restaurants, guides and tour operators—and develop a common strategy for future growth and marketing. And then we should focus on knocking down barriers to achieving that vision. I believe we should follow a similar path for attracting retirees, first bringing together providers such as home builders, living centers, and medical services to create a strategy for future marketing and expansion. When it comes to government, we should have two focus areas: making county government open and accessible, as well as making it as efficient as possible, and fighting to retain and expand the numbers of federal and state jobs located here. As to the first focus, the people of Douglas County deserve an efficient government that responds to their needs. And the second is simply to guarantee that federal and state funds continue to flow into our county and that services, such as the Social Security Administration and the Veterans Administration, stay here and benefit our citizens. We should also strive to build a safe and supportive business environment by working with county staff and our state legislators to reduce regulation, encourage communication between regulators and businesses, streamline the permitting processes, and eliminate burdensome fees and approval delays. To get these things done, the Board of Commissioners should spend a portion of its time within the first 30 days of 2015 engaging county staff at all levels with a simple question: “What can we do to make our county operations the most efficient, business-friendly and job-creating in Oregon?” Once those ideas flow in, the commissioners should evaluate and implement them in prudent and thoughtful ways. Throughout that process, the commissioners should remain close to businesses and communities to make sure what eventually gets done is effective and necessary. I believe we should support the use of continuing education to keep workers and businesses as competitive as possible. This could mean many things from support for vocational education in the high schools and at UCC to providing on-site trainers at interested, existing business focused on lean practices. We should also work to expand the business benefits of improved technology throughout Douglas County. We need to make sure that businesses and their customers in our communities have access to the best in power supplies, internet services, telecommunications, and transportation. The vision, means, and people are already in Douglas County to restore our economy, attract business and families, and grow existing businesses such that our young people can afford to stay here to work and raise their families. Let’s bring those resources together to do just that. I appreciate all of the support I have received so far in my campaign to be your next Douglas County Commissioner. If you havent already, I would appreciate it if you would visit my website to learn more about my vision for Douglas County, volunteer opportunities for the campaign, and more. (leif4commissioner) It is my privilege to earn your vote this November to serve as your commissioner. Thank you, ~Gary
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 21:01:15 +0000
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