Barry Broome, President and Chief Executive Officer of Greater Sacramento Economic Council, was the guest speaker at this month’s Cordova Community Council Luncheon. Broome’s presentation to the group painted his vision of what he thinks Sacramento area economics can be: a data and evidence-driven “megaregional” hub extending far beyond Sacramento. Broome is developing an inclusive strategy playing to the strengths of northern California. It’s a methodology he has developed throughout his professional life.

An Ohio native, Broome was working in the inner city of Cleveland when the mayor of Toledo called, looking for a new economic development director. “He had been through seventeen,” said Broome of infamous Carty Finkbeiner. Toledo was in dire straits.

The city was teetering on bankruptcy, but it was worse, said Broome. “The river caught fire and the lake was dead,” he said. Once a burgeoning industrial city, Toledo had fallen on tough times. The Cuyahoga River was so polluted by dumped industrial waste that in 1969 it famously caught fire. The Cuyahoga is a tributary for Lake Erie, which around 1960, began garnering headlines for massive fish die-offs, algal blooms and yet more pollution. By the late 1980s, Toledo was situated in what would become known as “The Rust Belt,” as recession and automotive industry struggles deeply impacted the local economy.

After the first six applicants turned down the job with Finkbeiner, Broome accepted and was instrumental in brokering a deal to keep Jeep manufacturing in Toledo, where it had been located since World War I. The new facility required hundreds of homes and business properties to be acquired and a river to be rerouted (undoing an old WPA project that had moved it from its original path), but was successful.

Broome then headed to Michigan. A 2003 Chicago Tribune article had this to say about Broome: ‘“He hits the ground and the place starts to shake,” says Don Parfet, a fourth-generation Upjohn heir. A sign taped to Broome’s door in the cramped offices of Southwest Michigan First, Kalamazoo’s non-profit economic development agency, reads, “Bull, China Shop.”‘

Since then, Broome served as CEO and president of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, bringing in approximately 260 companies before being hired in late 2014 to come to Sacramento. He doesn’t seem to have lost any of his momentum and brings a “no guts, no glory” attitude. His experience, including Toledo, which he called “a do or die situation for that community,” has enabled him to collectively lure and retain hundreds of companies, thousands of jobs, and raise over a billion dollars of investment in economic development.

California is sorely lacking in a statewide economic plan, according to Broome, comparing California to states like New York and Texas, which have such plans and are consequently financially healthier than California. He is carefully cultivating a regional brand for northern California, working with Sacramento and other counties to identify and consolidate an identity. “It’s so impossible to work together without understanding how assets work and connect together,” said Broome.

Broome’s approach to economic development digs deep into community nuts and bolts, identifying each piece and showing it to its best advantage. Highlighting infrastructure, workforce development and learning to move beyond what Broome called “provincial thinking” are integral parts of Sacramento’s economic future.

Community services (infrastructure) such as transportation, schools, shopping, arts and entertainment, cost and quality of life and employment opportunities are all vital to recruiting and retaining a talented, educated workforce, which is then attractive to companies looking to hire or relocate, according to Broome.

While Sacramento has long been prone competing with, say San Francisco, Broome is an advocate for pooling area resources. Greater Sacramento has partnered with the Bay Area Council to promote the megaregion brand. The move is intended to make the area a key player in a global economy. California consistently ranks lowest among the 50 states for being “business friendly.” Broome wants to change that and be what he calls, “The California Option, where people invest when looking at California.”

Broome says Greater Sacramento receives dozens of inquiries every week from businesses and individuals looking at locating in or relocating to the Sacramento area, and the numbers are expected to grow. Concerns regarding things such as cost of living, taxes or litigation in the state are frequent and not without merit, but Broome has a track record and a plan to prove how desirable and obtainable life and business in Sacramento, and surrounding communities like Rancho Cordova, can be.

Easy access to public transportation, the highway system, farm fresh dining, world class universities, arts and culture, affordable commercial and residential real estate are all hallmarks of Sacramento area living, says Broome. Further enhancements such as making Sacramento part of a high-tech corridor, creating a university research park, expanding river front possibilities and developing a thriving corporate center are investments in the future.

“We need to have a different conversation,” Broome maintains. Creating a megaregion with its own brand, sharing analytics with the communities, removing politics from the equation and emphasizing northern California’s assets, will lead to tangible results and effective decision making. Replacing business as usual will allow California to compete on larger stages, regionally and internationally, and stop other states like Texas from poaching businesses and talent. According to Broome, “Texas is taking our jobs while we’re not looking.”