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Monday, Jun. 16, 2008

Modesto Chamber of Commerce chief weighs in on economy

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Modesto Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Joy Madison isn't the kind of business lobbyist who works only behind closed doors.

She does her work in the sunlight, standing up for her members at public meetings and playing an expanding role in the city's political scene.

Madison sat down with The Bee last week to talk about the region's down economy and the city's changing entertainment industry. Here are excerpts from that conversation. Editor's note: an audio podcast of the conversation will be available with this story at mid-morning Monday.

Q: What are your members telling you about the economy today?

A: There are some bright spots and there are some scary spots. We've seen incredible increases in fuel costs. We've seen some businesses that are in some pretty bad shape, and we also see some industries that are doing well. For example, the ag sector is doing very well. So that is helping with the diversified economy Modesto has.

In other sectors, it's not quite as rosy. We've seen that in everything from our local governments to retail, and obviously the real estate market.

Q: Restaurants and furniture stores seem very susceptible in this economy. Why?

A: Part of it comes down to consumer spending and what they have to spend it on. Obviously, food costs have gone up exponentially. The cost of a loaf of bread is very high. (So is) the cost of fuel. Sometimes they're putting off maybe furniture for their home that they would like to purchase, but instead are spending money on other necessities such as fuel to get back and forth to work. It's just part of the cycle of the economy as we all struggle.

Q: I've called you a couple of times in the past year to talk about national rankings that keep placing Modesto at the bottom of the heap for business and quality of life. Are they making it more difficult for you to recruit businesses here?

A: Yes and no. It's never really pleasant to get a telephone call from you regarding the fact that we might be on somebody's low list. But when you're a site selector, and you're out making a decision whether or not you want to put a business in a particular place, you're looking at a lot of factors. That might be something you take a look at on the periphery, but you're looking more at the work force, and how we're growing our work force and the education level of our work force. You have to temper high unemployment, which is a bad thing, with the opportunity to say we now can recruit businesses. We have some really skilled folks that are out there. We do have some good opportunities. So you can spin the negatives because in a lot of cases they really are positives.

Q: You endorsed Measure M, the February ballot measure that aimed to expand the mayor's authority and improve accountability in City Hall. Why was it important to your members?

A: Those are the kinds of issues that the chamber is very interested in -- transparency in government. Everybody that's a constituent of Modesto is paying some kind of tax or fee, and we want to make sure our government is a good steward of those resources.

Q: You've been involved in another push to change the city's entertainment scene, and you have a funny sign about that in your office. What's it say?

A: "Absolutely no dancing." I put it up there because right now the current city law says that in order for any kind of dancing to be going on, you need a permit. For that permit you have to go through some hoops. So we were concerned there was a time when there weren't any permits being issued, and we wanted to make sure there was a reason behind that. So until the new ordinance is passed, and we know what that is, I don't have a dance permit. I don't want any dancing until it's legal.

Bee staff writer Adam Ashton can be reached at aashton@modbee.com or 578-2366.