Mayor sets economic development course

Nagin pledges $2M to establish public-private partnership
by Jaime Guillet

Economic development leaders say they are ecstatic Mayor C. Ray Nagin climbed onboard their effort to establish a public-private economic development entity.

During his annual State of the City Address on Wednesday, Nagin officially promised $2 million from the city’s $6.5 million economic development fund to start the new organization by January, and $1 million annually thereafter.

Money for the public-private agency, which has been proposed for several years, was a crucial missing component, keeping the idea from becoming reality. With the city’s financial backing, the new office gains viability, said George Wentz, co-founder of Horizon Initiative, a grassroots economic development organization and advocate of the partnership.

“I think (Nagin) deserves a lot of credit for this,” Wentz said. “We see this as a culmination of 18 months of work. Nagin’s promise removes a lot of doubt from the public whether this is real.”
Obtaining money from the New Orleans business community to support the new entity will be easier because until last week there were serious concerns of a true partnership with the city, Wentz said.

“We didn’t know where (Nagin) stood and his level of commitment until yesterday,” said Horizon Vice President Pamela Senatore, speaking the morning after Nagin’s speech. More here.