Online or by mail: Patrick Thomas White Committee • 81 Hawthorne St. • Lenox, MA 01240

Economic Development

I'm bullish on our economic prospects. We have so much to offer if we do this right, but a lot of work to do to get where we need to be.

We have a lot to offer. Let's let the world know.

Here's a reality we face. For all the talk about our needs, we aren't going to subsidize our way out of our housing crisis, our employment landscape, our challenges to declining enrollment. The only way out is jobs. Good paying jobs. Let's recognize that government's role in job creation is to do the work to set the table. Here's how I see government's role.

Vocational investment. Kudos to Berkshire Hills for its plans to add Chapter 74 vocational programs to South County and Southern Berkshire for its innovative Pathways program. 50% of our high school graduates either don't attend or finish college. Trades provide good career training without the massive debt some college graduates face. We need more of this. A lot more.

We've done this before. We can do it again. Think of the Merrimack Valley in the early 1970s. Empty mills. A polluted river. Economic stagnation. A population in decline. Sound familiar? The state implemented a series of economic policies that were later celebrated as the Massachusetts Miracle. They reimagined these dying communities as technology hubs. They created tax incentives to incentivize employers to choose the region. They focused on a few large anchors, and then encouraged the organic growth of small and mid-sized employers. Let's help leaders from Eastern Massachusetts recognize that Western Massachusetts is the job creation frontier. Let's extend the Massachusetts Miracle westward. We can reinvigorate the region.

I spent a lot of years working with venture capitalists. Do you know how far it is from Berkshire County to Boston or New York? About the same distance as San Francisco to Silicon Valley. Boston and New York are world class venture capital hubs with hundreds of billions in invested capital. Venture capital provides the early stage investment in companies that often start with a few dozen employees and grow to a few thousand. We need to pitch the Berkshires as the perfect location for their start-ups just like how the start-ups themselves pitch them for investment. There's simply no better place for early stage companies focused on hot sectors such as the emerging green and tech industries.

We need to diversify beyond tourism. When GE left, the county fell into a local depression. We're still seeing the impacts: an aging population, birth rates half the national average, a lack of enough good-paying jobs. Local leaders have done a tremendous job with the tourism economy. Now we need to expand and diversify the rest of our economy.

Extended shoulder season. While tourism isn't the only answer, it is a critical slice of our economic pie. Any small-business owner knows the truth about the Berkshires: our season isn't long enough. Let's encourage an even greater focus cultural programming outside the Tanglewood season. Whether you own the business or work for tips, a busier Berkshires helps us all. Let's make sure the promotional dollars are there to draw visitors year-round, not just in the summer.

Climate change will make milder regions like the Berkshires more competitive. All of the weather modeling I've seen suggests we are likely to experience slightly more precipitation and milder winters. Contrast this with what folks in southern regions will see: extreme temperatures, wildfires, challenges to quality of life. We need to make the case to employers what a great place this is to locate their businesses. We have a lot to offer their teams: great cultural attractions, amazing outdoor recreation, a two-hour drive to Boston, New York, and Hartford, mild long-term conditions, remote work opportunities. Together, these make us a great prospect for sustained investment.

Quad-State Economic Development. The state needs to do a better job of recognizing that rural Western Massachusetts and Vermont are actually part of a four state region. We need to partner with New York and Connecticut to pitch this region to job creators.

PS: Running costs money. I need your help. If you believe, like I do, that we have hope, that we can control our own destiny, that we can move the needle on the seemingly intractable issues we face, please consider donating to my campaign.

Stockbridge Old Town Hall.