GBC Annual Meeting, May 5, 2009

Good evening. Thank you for the generous introduction, Don.

Let me begin by thanking Woody Collins for his outstanding leadership of the GBC.  Woody brought into focus our near critical energy infrastructure problems and championed support for mass transit upgrades in our region.  He quietly brought together government and private sector leaders to find new paths toward cooperation in addressing our crime problems in Baltimore.  For all of this we are grateful.  Thank you, Woody.

I also want to thank the Board for giving me the opportunity to lead the GBC for the next two years. These are challenging economic times but opportunities wait for no one and vision is not restrained by market cycles.  We’ve worked together to uplift our region during times of Prosperity and Uncertainty. Greater Baltimore’s future is too precious to be dissuaded by economic distress.

I look forward to working with our Board members and all the volunteers who serve the GBC in so many ways, as well as Don Fry and his excellent team, to confront the challenges and mine the opportunities that this difficult business climate presents.
 
As the GBC’s history will attest, through more than a half Century this organization has shown foresight in identifying, supporting and executing strategies that have brought world-wide attention and business growth to the Greater Baltimore Region.

GBC can rightly claim a hand in many of the achievements that have made our City the revitalized community that it is today:

•    The redevelopment of downtown Baltimore, first in the 1950s with Charles Center, followed in the late 60s by the  Inner Harbor.  Harborplace itself opened July 2, 1980 with a noontime crowd of 50,000 visitors.  Nearly 30 years later, the Inner Harbor is still the region’s top tourist attraction.

•    Development of a regional transportation system. GBC has always been in the forefront of developing and promoting a strong transit system.  Today, we still have our sights firmly set on seeing the Red Line implemented.

•    Investment in Bioscience Industry.    The GBC has led efforts to build bioscience industry growth in the Baltimore region. Those efforts are paying off. Maryland is one of the top five regions for the bioscience industry in the country today.

•    Investment in Diversity and Entrepreneurship.   GBC’s Bridging the Gap program this year was recognized nationally as one of the best programs of its kind.  This program recognizes minority and women-owned businesses for their achievements and seeks to provide opportunities for their future growth.  Now in its  6th year, Bridging the Gap has become an important inclusive element in our business culture by aiding and recognizing those with economic disadvantages.    

These are but a few of the GBC’s extraordinary contributions to Greater Baltimore and to our State over the last six decades.

We do this by always looking ahead.

We do this

By being inventive.
By being ambitious.
By building consensus.

In 2001, one of my predecessors publicly championed the need to develop the biosciences industry in Baltimore. With Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland, we already had powerful allies in this effort and a strong base of academic and scientific research talent focused on bioscience.

What we needed were biotech companies.

What did we do? What we do best. We built consensus.

We worked with both the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins. We persuaded the Maryland General Assembly to pass what has proved to be key research and development tax credit  legislation.  We engaged biotech investment at every level.

Eight years later, the Biosciences industry in Baltimore is thriving and growing. It  generates nearly 30,000 jobs, of which the average annual income is $62,000 --  compared to average state income of $33,000.

Recognizing the power that well-publicized crime rates can have on a region’s reputation, the GBC pledged in January 2006 to get the business community involved in reducing crime.

The results are something we can all be proud of.  The Baltimore of today is neither the Baltimore portrayed in The Wire nor in Homicide: Life on the Streets.

In 2006, Baltimore had 276 homicides, the second-highest homicide rate of all U.S. cities with more than 250,000 people. That rate was nearly seven times the national rate, six times the rate of New York City, and three times the rate of Los Angeles.  In 2007 that number increased to 282. Something had to be done.

Our law enforcement agencies were more often heard to complain about each other than about the crime statistics.  Our public safety committee opened a dialoague with the police department and other law-enforcement stakeholders and members of the GBC committed resources to helping police and focus on  key crime havens. We built concensus around cooperation among our political leaders and we encouraged our members to hire young people or to financially support the City’s summer jobs initiative.   Last year, I am happy to report, the numbers trended down  significantly, dropping from 282 murders in 2007 to 234 in 2008.  Gun violence is just one symptom of a more pervasive crime problem.  Don’t get me wrong, much more must be done but we are on the right path through teamwork.
 
In 2002, the GBC enthusiastically supported a comprehensive regional rail plan to  serve a growing workforce  in Baltimore.

In 2007, the GBC made regional transportation needs high-profile through its Keep Maryland Moving campaign. State lawmakers responded by increasing transportation funding for highway, transit, port and airport projects, but  funding has since been reduced. Much more is needed.

If the proposed Alternative 4C is approved, it will pave the way for a 14.6 mile east-west light rail line that will put the region closer to a modern rail transit system.  We are aggressively pushing for the Red Line with tunnels that would connect with existing Metro and light rail, and with MARC commuter rail on both the east and west sides. We are getting there!

The big question before us is Now What?  What new initiatives should the GBC lead?

The answers will emerge from the contributions of our Board and our business volunteers, but here are a few ideas that have begun to emerge that I think are worth considering:

Baltimore is well positioned to lead the development of the next generation of nuclear energy in our Country.  

During the presidential election, all of the candidates -- but none more so than our new President -- championed the need to become less dependent on foreign oil, to conserve energy and to transition to alternative greenhouse gas free energy sources.

Location. Location. Location.

With Baltimore-based Constellation Energy seeking to build at Calvert  Cliffs what may well become the first nuclear power plant constructed in the United States in 30 years, we have a front row seat to resolve one component of the critical energy challenge facing our state and country.

As you know, EDF, Electricity de France, is seeking to invest $4.5 billion in Constellation Energy in part to support Constellation’s nuclear initiatives. This infusion of capital shows that new nuclear development is not only the wave of the future. It is here.  It is here in Baltimore.

We have learned from more than 30 years experience at Calvert Cliffs that nuclear power can safely provide much-needed, reliable energy 24 hours a day -- when the sun is shining and when it is not; when the wind blows or when it is calm all without green house gas emissions.  Nuclear energy is one part of the energy solution. We have a fantastic opportunity to set the national standard for developing safe and secure nuclear energy right here.

Nuclear Energy may well be the Baltimore Region’s Next. Big. Thing.
 
Needless to say, a constant and uninterrupted energy supply is critical to business.

How can we make this happen?

•    By building consensus among residents, businesses and Maryland’s elected leaders to find common ground to support not only renewables such as solar and wind but also nuclear energy as a key component of the strategy to avoid carbon emissions but keep our energy supply plentiful and affordable.

•    Second, we must re-educate people about nuclear energy – France has been using it safely for years.  Eighty percent of energy generated in France comes from nuclear power plants. In the United States, 20 percent of our energy comes from nuclear power.  There are 104 nuclear power stations in this country, which were built more than 30 years ago.  They can be re-commissioned for another 20 years, but before we know it, that fleet will be obsolete.  The time to act is now.

•    Third, much like we did with the biosciences, we need to offer resources to our colleges and universities supporting educational programs focused on training new math and science students who will become the engineers of tomorrow.    Many engineering programs in neighboring states have already seen this reality and begun to ramp up – we don’t want to be left behind.

Regional Cooperation, Not Parochialism is the Key to Greater Baltimore’s Future.   I’d like to see the GBC place new emphasis on the concept of regionalism.  

Doing so will not only help our city and county officials to work more effectively together, but it will make this region more viable as a place to develop and grow new business opportunities.

A renewed GBC  emphasis on regionalism will:

•    Strengthen our ability to address our critical, but aging water and sewer infrastructure – something that this audience has experienced all too closely of late.

•    Enhance the region’s chances of capitalizing on federal dollars available for additional infrastructure projects.

•    Assist planners in controlling growth and development in smart ways that maximize our resources.

•    Develop regional transportation strategies that generate a new paradigm for living and working in this region.

Speaking of regionalism, we must coordinate  our work   with Washington, D.C. business leaders, recognizing that our business climates are  closely related.
It is time to re-think Inner Harbor. The Inner Harbor redevelopment concept is more than 50 years old.  

It is likely not news to anyone in this audience that key Inner Harbor properties, including Harborplace and the Gallery, face new challenges because their owner has filed bankruptcy.  We cannot let our prized Inner Harbor, the jewel of downtown revitalization, slip or suffer.

It is our #1 tourist destination and should remain so. I expect that the GBC will lead a new vision for this crown jewel of our City and Region.

New Vision Requires Bold Action.

There is something about this juncture in time that I believe lends itself to risk-taking.

This is not the booming 1990s, it is 2009 and it is raining out. But when the rain stops, everything is going to look different.  So I don’t believe the old rules and ways of operating will apply.

If there is a time to stretch our minds and imaginations to create the New Reality for Greater Baltimore, it is now. In doing so, we must not forget our core priorities.  I am honored to Chair the Greater Baltimore Committee at this moment in time. I look forward to a productive, fun and stimulating two years as we work together to help create the New Reality for Greater Baltimore.

Thank you.