McDonnell is serious about our success

Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell hasn’t taken the oath of office yet, but he was in Danville Wednesday making good on one of his signature campaign promises: To be in our community on a regular basis working to find solutions to the economic development problem.

“There’s tremendous opportunity in Southside Virginia,” McDonnell said. “There’s great ideas down here. There’s uniquely unified leadership between Danville and Pittsylvania County … There’s a lot of vision … What we need now is to provide the tools and some resources to be able to close the deals.”

Economic development is a local government responsibility, but the state plays several important roles, including support for the development of community infrastructure (roads, fiber optic lines, shell buildings, water and sewer lines), steering appropriate prospects to communities and financial incentives to close deals.

Picking up where his predecessors left off, McDonnell wants to build on the work done by Danville and Pittsylvania County to develop joint industrial development projects. That’s a smart approach for a community that doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel. A lot of things have already been done here to position the Dan River Region for the next wave of new jobs.

We’re not the same community we were the day it was learned that Dan River Inc. was shutting down its local manufacturing.

“You’re ahead of the game and that’s a good thing,” Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling said of city-county cooperation. “What we want to figure out now is how we can help you get farther ahead of the game.”

While the Dan River Region still has Virginia’s highest metro area jobless rate, it also has a number of firms that have set up shop in our community but have been hurt by the recession.

McDonnell knows the community has a lot of positive momentum. He just wants to make sure that the ball keeps rolling.

We have been given a unique opportunity here. In McDonnell, we have a new governor who has pledged to work hard to help grow the Dan River Region’s economy. McDonnell’s early and enthusiastic support of this community’s success — coming before he’s even sworn in — is the best sign a hurting community could have about Richmond’s commitment to our success.

Let’s take advantage of McDonnell’s willingness to work so hard on our behalf.