Schools, Economy, Transit on Agenda
By Michael S. Rosenwald
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 9, 2006
The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce has launched an intensive search for a new president and chief executive. If county residents think that position doesn't matter to them -- that, hey, the local chamber is only a place where business folks get together to figure out how to improve the bottom line -- they would probably be wise to think again about all the ways it affects everyday life.
"When the chamber is very effective, what happens is that the vibrancy of the economy grows and supports all of the good things we like, such as good schools, roads, growing access to the library system -- it's the economy that ultimately supports that," said William G. Robertson, chief executive of Adventist HealthCare. "If the chamber does well, businesses can do better in keeping this community vibrant."
Robertson, the immediate past chairman of the county chamber, is leading the search, and if the organization's agenda for the past year is any indication of what's in store next year, the new president/chief executive will be a major participant in some of the most important conversations in the county -- about growth, education, mass transit and biotech companies struggling to produce drugs that may save lives.
In the past year, the chamber has lobbied aggressively for the controversial intercounty connector, the Purple Line rail and the widening of Interstate 270. The chamber has and continues to push for more small-business incubators to help start companies and create jobs and wealth from the ground up. And it has strongly pushed for more school construction funds, as well as program funding for adult literacy and English as a second language.
"In the past five years, the chamber has become a major player in a variety of issues including transportation and education," said outgoing county council member Steven A. Silverman (D-At Large), who was endorsed by the chamber in his losing bid for county executive. "For instance, you don't have in Montgomery County what you have in other places, which is the business community not focused on education. They are very focused on education."
And though it's likely few county residents would argue that improving education isn't a worthy goal, there are other issues that may put the business community at odds with many residents. At the top of the list: growth. Chamber officials are particularly interested in increasing the county's job growth rate, which in turn means more demand for affordable places for people to live, which could lead to increasing residential development.
County residents, however, appear to be inclined toward slower growth, a sentiment apparent in recent county election results, which seemed to favor candidates who supported slowing things down.
"I would expect that would be a fundamental difference with the chamber's position," Silverman said.
Judging by Robertson's comments, Silverman is probably correct.
"When you go to a place that does not have growth, you realize that you would rather be in a place that has growth," Robertson said. "The chamber believes that in the best interests of our community there needs to be growth going on or we will become a stagnant community, and stagnant communities become dying communities."
The chamber represents more than 750 employers and 150,000 employees in the county. The president/chief executive handles the day-to-day operations and strategy of the organization. Robertson would like to have a new leader in place by the end of the year and said the board is concentrating its efforts on local candidates.
One of those candidates, insiders say, is interim President Georgette "Gigi" Godwin, who was vice president of public affairs at the chamber. She is temporarily replacing Richard Parsons, who resigned recently to take a job with Rodgers Consulting Inc., a land-use and development consulting firm in Germantown.
Godwin, a longtime education advocate, has lived in the county for two decades and was recently appointed to the Board of Trustees of Montgomery College. Asked whether she was interested in the job, Godwin said, "I've been encouraged to apply." Asked by whom, she said, "Many folks."
Robertson said the job's salary is competitive with similar chamber jobs in the region -- between $100,000 and $150,000.
Edward Hall Asher, a Chevy Chase developer and the incoming board chairman, believes the county is going to have trouble sustaining current budget levels because of a drop-off in the economy. He said the chamber could be particularly helpful.
"I think the county council should be able to use the expertise of all the businesses in the county to help get through the rough period," said Asher, who is president of the Chevy Chase Land Co., which recently built a luxury shopping center on Wisconsin Avenue.
Howard A. Denis (R-Potomac-Bethesda), a longtime county council member, said he would like to see the chamber, particularly under its new leadership, get involved in legislative activities earlier in the process.
"Where they miss the boat is that they tend to parachute in at the end, right before we are going to make a decision," Denis said. "It's not as effective as it might be because you really have to stay with the legislative process and the council on a regular basis."
Denis did say that he was encouraged during a recent instance of the chamber pushing along an important issue nearly from the get-go. That was its early and key support for a county program that sets aside 10 percent of each county department's procurements for area small businesses.
"I give the chamber credit there -- they did pick up on it, they did help make it happen and they did lobby for it," Denis said. "We have to do more along those lines."
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