Branstad's Economic Development Plan

I had planned to check out Republican candidate for governor Terry Branstad's economic development announcement in Marion Tuesday. My immune system, however, had other plans.

So I was left to sort through media coverage. The lede everywhere is that Branstad would scrap, kill, eliminate etc. the Iowa Department of Economic Development and replace it with a "public-private partnership"

From Eastern Iowa Government:

Existing state economic development programs should be evaluated and replaced if necessary, Branstad told an audience of about 100 at Rathje Construction in Marion.

“Our current tool box is an alphabet soup of programs that many find confusing and complex,” Branstad said, arguing that Iowa needs fewer and more focused programs to attract business.

If elected, Branstad said he would seek the reorganization of the agency as the Iowa Partnership for Economic Progress under a public-private commission headed by the Kim Reynolds, who is running for lieutenant governor on his ticket.

The organization would be headed by a CEO with a track record of “real world economic development success,” Branstad said.

Branstad said an "independent commission" would help run the agency.

There are things to like in Branstad's plan. I think a comprehensive review of the "alphabet soup," as Branstad called it, is overdue. Still, I think someone who had a big hand in cooking this soup in the first place while serving 16 years as governor ought to give us some concrete sign of what he might change.

He talks about a scandal-ridden, dysfunctional department, but how would he improve oversight?  And how would including the private sector impact transparency and the public's ability to keep tabs on its operations?

I know campaigns are often detail-free, but I think someone with Branstad's experience faces a higher standard.

Killing a department sounds bold, but without more detail, it's tough to tell whether Branstad is making a sea change or rearranging deck chairs.

Elements of his plan have been floated before. There are similarities to a plan pushed by then-GOP nominee Doug Gross, who wanted to revamp the department and make his running mate, Sioux City development leader Debbie Durham, its director.

When Gov. Tom Vilsack hired Mike Blouin to lead the IDED, he proposed a public-private paycheck partnership that would pay Blouin with both taxpayer dollars and donations from the private sector. His critics, including Republicans, cried foul, arguing that his private pay would create conflicts of interest. Vilsack backed off.

I'm not sure how Branstad's partnership would handle potential conflicts with its private partners.

And Branstad is not the only GOP candidate for governor pushing such a plan. From the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch:

In the first substantive proposal of the governor's race, Republican John Kasich today proposed replacing the Ohio Department of Development with a private, nonprofit corporation.

Kasich would create JobsOhio and appoint a 12-member board of directors to oversee economic development efforts by the state. The board would comprise current and former chief executive officers, including some from small companies, who would report to the governor. Members would come from different areas of the state and industry groups, Kasich said, and probably would be paid expenses only.

Kasich said that JobsOhio's sole purview would be economic development -- attracting and retaining companies, linking businesses with customers, suppliers and researchers, and helping them identify financing. Other functions of the development department not directly related to economic development would be evaluated and moved to other state agencies.

Branstad complained about the "bureaucrats" running the department. It's true that the government agency is staffed by government employees, but the current Iowa Economic Development Board, which decides who gets assistance, incentives, etc., is filled with private-sector types:

Curtis Baugh - Pella, Pella Art and Graphics

David Bernstein - Sioux City, State Steel

John Bickel - Cedar Rapids, Shuttleworth & Ingersoll

Jerry Courtney - Burlington, Financial Representative, Northwestern Mutual Financial Network

Nancy Dunkel - Dyersville, Market President, Fidelity Bank & Trust

Rebecca “Becky” Greenwald - Perry

Dr. Sue Jarboe - Urbandale, Dasun Consulting, LLC

John Lisle - Clarinda, Manufacturer, Lisle Corporation

Dr. Andrea “Andy” McGuire - Des Moines, American Enterprise Group Insurance

Robert G. Riley, Jr. - Des Moines, President and CEO, Feed Energy Company

Marcia Rogers - Cedar Rapids, Principal of SmartVote, a division of AdTrack Corporation

Toby Shine - Wahpeton, President, Shine Brothers Corporation

Daniel White - Dubuque, John Deere Dubuque Works

Vacancy - Representative from the Life Sciences

Vacancy - Individual under the age of 30 at the time of appointment

Again, Branstad's plan sounds good, but we really don't know how it would work and how different it would be from the current set up.

I assume the state will still be throwing taxpayer dollars and tax incentives at business prospects with hopes of begging them to expand/locate here. It will just be a different cast of characters doing the throwing.