On Development: More local voices needed

Almost 40 years ago, when I had a mid-career journalism fellowship at Ohio State University, my experience was shaped by a couple of courses in political geography. I had never heard of “political geography,” but the courses basically offered an academic approach to many of the things I’d been covering as a newspaper reporter for 10 years and would continue to write about for the rest of my life.

The politics of development.

Not necessarily partisan politics, or even limited to the final votes of zoning boards or city councils. It’s more about what interests are at the table for long-term strategies at the regional, local, and neighborhood levels. What and where are the most pressing challenges? And who will set the quasi-public agenda?

The generic term for the agenda-setters is “growth coalitions.” At the time, the central Ohio version was called the Metropolitan Growth Committee. Its counterpart today is the Columbus Partnership. The coalition has evolved. And the “titans” who led the decision-making were regularly assessed in Columbus Monthly over the decades. Likewise, the passage of time and the consolidation of corporate entities have reshaped power structures across the country. 

Until recent decades, the old-school coalitions tended to be led by banks and savings and loans; gas/heating companies; electric utilities; and developers. All of those were seen as integral businesses that were geographically tied to and limited by the region. Those companies would not grow unless the city and region grew.

How quaint.

Two of central Ohio’s three largest lenders at the time have long since been swallowed up in mega-mergers, and the third, Huntington, is swallowing competitors in many other states. Its still-strong local presence is nonetheless a shrinking percentage of its business. Likewise, our gas and electric utilities still have a Columbus corporate presence but have a much-broader scope. And the developers swarming to plop down projects all over Columbus are from all over the country. None of these entities has an intrinsic bond to Columbus any longer.

The scope of local leadership has evolved – but the local role remains as important as ever.

Though the traditional coalition leaders are not as dependent on the region as they used to be, they are still important. For years, the Partnership remained strong and evolved into what some praise and others revile as “the Columbus Way.”

The area’s consummate economic-development guy is Mark Barbash, who wrote two Columbus Dispatch op-eds in June pointing out the challenges facing the Partnership.

Barbash has more than 30 years of experience in economic development, serving in roles such as director of development for Columbus and chief economic development officer for Ohio. He is the founder and director of the Ohio Economic Development Institute. Barbash is a nationally recognized economic developer, serving on boards including the International Economic Development Council. He also is an instructor in public budgeting, public finance and nonprofit financial leadership in the John Glenn College of Public Affairs. (And this is just an abbreviation of his resume.)

His most-recent column, from June 28, was triggered by the June resignation of Columbus Partnership CEO Jason Hall after just 18 months on the job. Barbash’s concern was not so much allegations of a hostile workplace. Instead, he raised questions about the supposed need for a national search to bring Hall to Ohio. He argued that the Partnership needs to nurture local expertise from a broadened field of leaders in various sectors.  Leading the Partnership is a position that requires understanding the intricacies of central Ohio politics and development.

Barbash’s initial column, from June 4, focused on global and national economic changes and corporate leaders who may have been transferred here from elsewhere. He cites the need for a broader growth coalition that features not just philanthropic giants such as the Columbus Foundation and United Way, but also smaller, street-level institutions. The column did not specify a need for public education to be part of a coalition, but he said in an email that schools need to be part of the process.

It sometimes seems as if the City of Columbus and Columbus City Schools are more than separate entities. It’s as if they’re on separate planets. Yet their fates are inextricably entwined. Without a world-class school district, we can’t be a world-class city. 

Ohio’s highjacking of state education funds for unaccountable private schools makes Columbus a weaker city. The city needs to find ways to support economic development and build more housing without so readily awarding tax breaks.

The city and the region become stronger when civic leaders bring more local voices and perspectives to the table.

Brian Williams is a semi-retired journalist and planner.