Economic development, Stamford-style

Economic development was on the agenda at the latest edition of the Stamford Partnership’s TechHub Fireside Chat series, with Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner David Lehman and his local counterpart Loren Nadres, the director of economic development for the city of Stamford, engaged in a discussion before a business professional audience on April 20 at Half Full Brewery Third Place coworking space in Stamford.

Nadres facilitated the conversation by asking Lehman for his thoughts on a number of topics pertinent to Stamford Partnership members. Lehman began by recounting his private career sector and how he got his appointment from the governor.

“I cold called him,” Lehman said. “I didn’t know him, but I saw when he got elected and what he wanted to do. He reminded me in many ways of Mike Bloomberg and what he did in New York City back in 2002. A pragmatic businessman focused on results.”

Lehman stated that he reached out and offered to quit his job to be of assistance and, within short order, he was welcomed aboard.

Nadres replied that she felt the same, attracted to her role with the city of Stamford because of the leadership of Mayor Caroline Simmons. She said her current focus is on expanding the city’s portfolio of international businesses. She also admitted that she was excited about the city’s application for the Innovation Quarter Grant, which provides $50 million for improvements to the city’s workforce development, housing stock and other important indicators of growth.

“She’s not telling you something: I am the one who has to judge these,” Lehman interjected to laughs from the audience. For objectivity’s sake, they both decided to leave discussion of the grant off the table.

The conversation then shifted to Lehman reiterating that Lamont has a business background, the first governor in 30 years to have held the office with no previous political office experience and only a business background.

“He has a centrist approach,” Lehman stressed. “And he has been very vocal about not raising taxes, having more taxpayers, not more taxes, growing the economy in the state of Connecticut. So, one of the first things I did when I was seated in March of 2019 was make sure that we’re reaching out to our largest employers, to establish that relationship and that dialogue and to listen.”

“You don’t have to just take my word for this,” Lehman added. “You’ll see the NBC survey of the best states for business. You’ll see Connecticut went from 37 in 2018, to 35 in 2019, to 24 last year. So, it improved 11 spaces, the second-biggest improvement save for Maryland.”

Lehman praised Stamford for representing the sort of midsize city that was driving that growth, and he rattled off positive figures, which he attributed at least in part to Lamont’s leadership.

“There’s never been a better time to do business in the state of Connecticut,” he said. “If you look at the numbers, this is the third surplus in a row, close to $2 billion after half a billion-dollar surplus last year. The state’s never really seen that in the past. Yes, the federal money is helping in a meaningful way but those excess dollars have been going to pay down the pensions.”

Lehman highlighted a $4.6 billion paying down of pension payments last year, with another $1 billion to $2 billion payment forecasted for this year, which he noted was appreciable progress on the combined $40 billion in pensions remaining. He said that this progress means that when a recession arrives, the state will be in a position to avoid cutting services.

While the state’s financial situation has vastly improved, Lehman also stressed the need for improvements to the state’s transportation infrastructure, which he indicated should aspire to the level Stamford provides. Improving workforce development was also a major issue, though he once again indicated that Stamford is leading the pack in reaching those goals.

“Those types of issues are where we’re focused on increasing the vibrancy and livability and attractiveness of our small and big sized cities,” Lehman said.

Lehman also highlighted Connecticut Innovations (CI), a quasi-public entity that acts as a venture capital firm to invest in businesses across the state. With $600 million in assets sourced from the state, CI’s portfolio includes 200 companies across the state which employ nearly 5,000 people. He indicated programs along this line can play an important part in promoting a strong business environment across the state.

In discussing the state’s response to the Covid pandemic, Lehman said, “What we learned with Covid is regardless of what decision you make, you knew you were alienating, pissing off at least a third of the population. That’s still the case today. So, we’re still trying to strike a balance to make sure we’re protecting lives and livelihoods.”

Lehman also took questions from the TechHub Fireside Chat audience. When asked about the role the housing shortage has had on efforts to implement the stated reforms, Lehman was unequivocal: “Connecticut needs more housing. There’s a nationwide housing shortage whether it’s rental or not.”

In Lehman’s opinion, housing in Connecticut needs to be compared to other growing economies, such as most expensive sections of California or cities like Austin where housing prices relative to incomes are even more dire. But even with that comparison in mind, he stressed the importance of continued development.

“If you don’t build housing, you’re just going to see that income to home price ratio rise,” he concluded.