Region Business
Good Governance
Region Business helps elected officials tackle issues
By Jessica Laskey
When Garrett Gatewood was first coming up almost a decade ago as the owner of a regional tech company , he saw the need for a place where tech leaders could come together to discuss shared issues and help guide development . “ We needed a voice ,” Gatewood says .
He found that voice in Region Technology , an arm of Region Business . He also found a staunch supporter in Region Business CEO Joshua Wood , who was one of Gatewood ’ s first supporters when he was appointed to the Rancho Cordova City Council in 2017 . In 2021 , Gatewood became Rancho Cordova ’ s first black mayor , and now it ’ s his job to give his constituents a voice just like Region Business first gave him .
Gatewood is not alone in singing the praises of the business advocacy group , especially among elected officials . Joe Patterson , the former mayor of Rocklin who recently stepped down to run for state assembly , first joined Region Business to “ hear what the business community and other electeds are thinking .”
“ They do a good job bringing together the public and private sector and discussing laser-focused policy issues that are impacting the industry ,” Patterson says . “ If ( an issue ) is challenging , they don ’ t care , they try to solve it . They aim for the moon — and they hit it .” Despite these lofty ambitions , Folsom City Councilmember Mike Kozlowski says “ there ’ s never been a moment when I ’ ve felt at odds with any of their goals . We ’ ve grown together in our desire to make things better for small businesses .”
When first getting involved with Region Business , architect Kozlowski prized the organization ’ s interest in tackling industry issues with pragmatism . “ Fast-forward 10 years to my third-and-a-half year on the Folsom City Council and hopefully I ’ ve lived up to that aspiration for useful , middle-of-the-road ( leadership ).”
Sacramento County Supervisor ( District 2 ) Patrick Kennedy sees Region Business as a lynchpin in addressing specific concerns in his district as he heads into his ninth year of government service . “ Quality of life issues matter to people and we can ’ t have conversations about those without talking about homelessness ,” Kennedy says . “ Region Business is very vocal and involved in the subject , as they should be .”
Elk Grove City Councilmember ( District 3 ) Kevin Spease , who first got involved with the business group when he was appointed to the Elk Grove Planning Commission , sums it up simply . “ It just made sense to join a group of like-minded professionals who work to find better solutions for their businesses and , in turn , benefit the community with jobs and revenue ,” he says .
Former Region Business board and committee members elected to local office :
• Mike Kozlowski , Folsom City Council
• Garrett Gatewood , Rancho Cordova City Council
• Kevin Spease , Elk Grove City Council
• Patrick Kennedy , Sacramento County Board of Supervisors
• Joe Patterson , former Rocklin City Councilmember and State Assembly candidate
“ They also led a successful public challenge to a planned referendum aimed at killing the project .”
A recent campaign by Region Business is aimed at channeling local transportation funds toward the relocation of the SMUDcreated California Mobility Center to its permanent home in a redevelopment project adjacent to the Sacramento State campus . “ Business is realizing that the CMC will succeed and they know they can help ,” says Sac State President Robert Nelsen . The school hopes to develop what Nelsen calls “ an innovation hub ” for technology-related jobs .
Investing Local Public Funds into Redevelopment Beyond policy advocacy , Region Business has created a program that increases investment of local municipal dollars in the community that is also intended to strengthen the area ’ s community banks . The organization ’ s Responsible Investment for a Stronger Economy ( RISE ) program grew out of an off-handed question posed by then-State Treasurer John Chiang .
“ He asked us what we were doing with state money that was being deposited in community banks ,” recalls Five Star Bank ’ s Beckwith .
Beckwith listed construction of the B Street Theatre and the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op as examples of local projects supported by state funds . That got Beckwith thinking about what the bank could do with other municipal funds , which led the City of Rancho Cordova to invest $ 10 million with American River Bank ( now Bank of Marin ) and Five Star Bank that could be leveraged into the city ’ s economic development . “ Our goal was to invest in the community and make sure small- and medium-sized businesses could be assisted ,” says Rancho Cordova City Manager Cyrus Abhar .
He notes that the city ’ s money has been leveraged to support $ 45 million in development since 2018 , which he calls “ a sign that the program is working .”
Most of the municipal funds have been invested in commercial real estate
100 comstocksmag . com | September 2022