[Click here to download a copy of Mike's Jobs & Economy Plan]

 

Getting the Job Done for Sonoma County
Mike McGuire's Plan to Create Jobs and Get Sonoma County Working Again

Work hard, work together and never give up. These are Sonoma County values.

From working on my grandparents’ Alexander Valley farm as a kid, to working with parents to rebuild decaying schools in our community, to working with neighbors to protect our drinking water and the fragile Russian River ecosystem – I’ve seen the people of Sonoma County come together to get the job done.

Today, we have a big job to do. Our county’s jobless rate is 11.3 percent and climbing. A record 28,000 people are looking for work. And if we include the under-employed, the rate goes up to more than 20 percent. Behind these statistics are real families with children or aging parents who suddenly don’t know how they’re going to make ends meet.

We need leaders who are doing everything possible to create jobs and keep our economy growing. And we need to do it in one of the toughest budget environments in modern memory. That’s why I am offering the following proposals to keep Sonoma County working.

Together, we can do this job:

 

1) Sonoma County First:

Putting local tax dollars to work to keep our local economy strong

As supervisor, I will push for a common-sense policy that steers jobs and projects funded by our tax dollars to qualified Sonoma County workers and their families first.

Sonoma County spends millions of dollars on everything from building and maintaining roads and sidewalks to hiring firms for professional services to buying paper clips. By using local businesses that hire local workers, we can create jobs and keep those dollars working here at home, instead of flying out of our local economy.

It’s called the multiplier effect: a Sonoma County company pays a Sonoma County worker, who shops in Sonoma County stores that pay other Sonoma County residents. In Healdsburg, our Chamber of Commerce has found that the multiplier is three – in other words, every dollar spent locally will circulate three times through our local economy. This increased economic activity will increase county revenues we need to provide vital services like public safety, education and health care.

I will work hand-in-hand with my colleagues on the board and community stakeholders to design a policy that accomplishes these goals through a local business preference ordinance.

As a starting point, we can look to the successful local vendor preference policy we use in Healdsburg, where a local business may be awarded a contract to the extent allowable by law if its bid is within five percent of the lowest non-local bid. At the time we strengthened our ordinance last year, approximately $9 million in city spending was discretionary (covered by the ordinance).

Even before the more aggressive ordinance was enacted, the city was spending 38% of all discretionary dollars locally. Imagine what those figures will look like in five years as the new spending ordinance has a chance to take effect – and just imagine the positive effect the county can have on local businesses by buying locally through a local business preference ordinance.

 

2) Sonoma County First – Green

Building a sustainable foundation for a strong economy

Sonoma County will spend millions of dollars in the coming years on green initiatives.

For example, the Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority, which I helped start, is implementing a plan to retrofit homes and businesses to be more energy efficient and use renewable power. In addition to substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the retrofit program could create 16,300 local jobs and add $1.5 billion dollars to the Sonoma County economy. And the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program, which offers property owners the opportunity to finance energy efficient property improvements through the property tax system, is also expected to stimulate our local economy with clean technology jobs.

The more we spend those dollars locally, the more we create the jobs and develop the industries that will power the sustainable economy we need to keep our county strong.

I want to explore creating a target – a 25 percent minimum local spending goal to start, to the extent allowed by law, increasing to 50 percent over the next five years as local green companies grow capacity.

This policy would be more than just about jobs – it would also be a wise policy for our environment. Promoting local environmental technology and businesses would encourage the kind of vigorous innovation we need in the environmental movement.

 

3) Economic Development Board Enhancements:

Bringing a business approach to our business assistance programs

As supervisor, I will work collaboratively to enhance and expand the Economic Development Board (EDB) to create a highly functional business and job promotion program – with specific annual goals and targets, set by the Board of Supervisors and designed to create a robust economy with more job opportunities. 

The EDB needs to become much more aggressive in its outreach and assistance, and must partner with business groups to help our community survive and thrive. Its primary mission should be to (1) preserve local businesses, (2) expand local businesses and (3) bring in new businesses.

The EDB should establish a goal of attracting or helping create 100 new small businesses here in Sonoma County that employ between 10 and 20 people.  These small, professional, service, sale or manufacturing based businesses are the cornerstone of our local economy and we need to focus our efforts on them.

 

4) Partnership, not Partisanship:

Coming together in tough times to rebuild our economy

As supervisor, I will reach out personally to leaders in the business, labor, non-profit and education communities – and all the municipalities in the county – to work as partners to repair our economy and bring new jobs to our county.

It will take some hard work for everyone to set aside regional and historical differences, but today’s economy demands it. Yet I know we can do this, because I’ve done it before.

In Healdsburg, we’re using redevelopment funds in an innovative partnership with local businesses to boost marketing and advertising activities to generate economic activity all throughout the city and provide revenue for vital services like police and fire. It’s not hard and it’s a win-win for residents, businesses and city government.

And, in my own campaign, I am leading by example by building a coalition that includes the county’s largest business and labor organizations.

 

5) Education as Economic Development:

It's the county's job, too

Up to 70 percent of California high-school students will not obtain a four-year college degree. Providing job skills to these young adults is more than just an educational imperative – it’s critical to keeping our local economy strong. We can create strong partnerships with our schools today to make sure that our kids are prepared to compete for the jobs of tomorrow.


As supervisor, I will work hard to encourage schools and businesses to work together to create work-study programs, summer jobs and internships for students. And I’ll work to develop partnerships with high schools, Santa Rosa Junior College, Sonoma State University, local businesses and the county to create new, high-wage jobs and a workforce that is prepared to compete for those positions.

My education plan – A Common-Sense Contract with Kids – outlines key areas where our county and schools can work together to free up more money for classrooms and give kids the skills they need to succeed. The complete plan is available at www.MikeForSupervisor.com/education.html.

 

6) Digital Infrastructure:

Improving Internet access for rural communities

High-speed Internet is revolutionizing the way we do business – yet the rural nature of the 4th supervisorial district leaves our area, and other rural areas in the county, under-served when it comes to Internet and cellular communications.

While there are some vendors available, the county must do better to improve our digital infrastructure. Most rural locations have no option for the faster speeds required to take full advantage of emerging capabilities and applications. This puts businesses and residents in rural areas at a serious disadvantage, particularly as delivery of health care, government, and education services increasingly depends on fast Internet access.

As long as rural parts of Sonoma County are without broadband service and others are served only marginally, small businesses in these areas will continue to struggle. We need to improve both access and cost in unincorporated areas to ensure competitiveness.

The Federal Communications Commission’s new Broadband Plan states that “every household and business location in America should have access to affordable broadband service with actual download speeds of at least 4 Mbps by 2020." Sonoma County – home to many of the companies which invented broadband technology – should lead the way in achieving this goal.

As supervisor, I will work with local businesses, Internet providers, and federal agencies to accelerate the availability of fast and affordable broadband service, particularly in the rural parts of our district.

 

Jobs & Economy Plan Co-Sponsors:

"We're working together with Mike to get Sonoma County working again!"

Lisa Maldonado
Executive Director, North Bay Labor Council

Lisa Wittke Schaffner
Executive Director, Sonoma County Alliance

 

Click here to sign our petition and add your name today!