Immediately following my swearing-in this afternoon as California’s
47th Lieutenant Governor, I convened a meeting with regional economic
development leaders statewide to let them know how important it is that
their needs are met and to communicate that spurring jobs, and creating
a prepared, skilled work force are my highest priorities.
California
families have worked hard over the past two years to put food on the
table, provide for their children, pay their mortgages and live within
their means to survive the current recession. I have been tremendously
moved by the stories I have heard about the second and third jobs
people are taking so that their households stay afloat.
Now that our
economy is showing signs of recovery, now is the time to act to
stimulate the economy and help households who have been hard hit. We
are at a critical cross-roads and efforts to stimulate our economic
growth are the priority of the day. This meeting was my first order of
business as Lieutenant Governor, and it will persist as my focus.
As Chair of the California Commission for Economic Development, I fully
intend to maximize my office’s efforts on job creation and retention,
work diligently to promote sustainable economic growth and further
private investment opportunities.
The Legislature and the Governor will look to this Commission for policy
recommendations in the coming year such as how to fuel more venture
capital investment in specific industries like the clean tech sector
and how to abolish barriers to small business growth. There are a
number of leaders from the academic, small business, and non-profit
sectors who will have valued insight into how California can strengthen
our recovering economy.
Over the next several weeks, I will be actively reaching out to these valued partners so that the Commission can be a proactive part of California’s progress. The great people of this state
deserve nothing less than my complete attention to helping get our
state back to an economy where business is booming and high-value jobs
are flourishing.