This past week we traveled to California on our first joint economic development mission. We believe this is the beginning of a partnership between the governor and mayor’s offices that will helpstrengthen our economy and create employment opportunities. Our economic success depends upon collaboration among state government, city government and the private sector. With that in mind, we madethe trip with members of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and business leaders.
Colorado has a unique relationship with California. It is our largest trading partner. Expansions from California companies like Hewlett Packard, Sun Microsystems, Amgen and others have spurred Colorado’s development as a center of technology. Colorado is one of the largest recipients of California venture capital investments. California firms participated in the majority of the $500 million in Colorado venture capital investments last year.
In the course of two days in Silicon Valley we met with representatives from over 50 companies. The power of the innovation engine in that unique part of our nation made a real impression on us. While a number of companies remain concerned with the instability of California’s political and fiscal situation, they continue to believe that they need to maintain a presence in the Bay area. But they also see Colorado as a growing center of entrepreneurial activity and a place where future investments will be fruitful.
A major focus of our visits with companies such as Hewlett- Packard was to say “thank you” for their investments in Colorado. They deeply appreciated our interest in their Colorado and metro Denver operations.
We gained valuable insights into how the state and the metro region can ensure their continued success in Colorado.
In many ways we saw the unique relationship both states enjoy. At Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, we saw the merger of California and Colorado operations firsthand. Lockheed is moving toward a “one company” concept whereby workers in California and Colorado work jointly in trans-state teams to bring new technologies to the defense of our nation and the commercialization of space. The merger of Colorado’s J.D. Edwards with California’s PeopleSoft brings together the strengths of two great software companies to create a global competitor poised for growth in the next two years.
Our visit with Sun Microsystems reinforced our enthusiasm for a great company in Colorado with an exciting future. We saw new technologies being developed in the tracking of retail inventories and new products for real-time business applications.
We appreciated the interest shown by California venture capitalists in our state. Many are seeing a rebound in their funds and indicated a keen interest in expanding Colorado investments.
We took advantage of each opportunity to promote Denver and Colorado’s attributes, highlighting Colorado’s No. 1 national ranking for best overall business climate, Denver’s new commitment to reducing needless bureaucratic red tape, the quality of our technological workforce, and the most innovative multi- modal transportation project in the country – T-REX. We emphasized Denver’s $5.3 billion commitment to new projects that will create more than 35,000 jobs in construction alone. We pointed with pride to the nation’s most exciting new development in biotechnology – the redevelopment of Fitzsimons Army Hospital into a center of excellence in the life sciences.
The world-renowned Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group advised us to stay ahead of our target by continuing to address education, transportation, energy housing and our environment. We certainly can learn from Silicon Valley on these issues and aim our investments and public policy decisions toward greater future prosperity while enhancing our quality of life.
The purpose of our mission to California was to retain jobs for thousands of Coloradans employed by California-based companies. If these companies are looking to expand, we want them to look no further than Colorado.
Our economic development trip demonstrated the new partnership between the Denver metro area and the State of Colorado, a partnership that is committed to strengthening investments in our future and to retaining and expanding existing businesses. This is the fastest way to create jobs for our citizens. This economic development mission is but one effort to assist these companies and to provide new opportunities.
