Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1163139
44 n e w h a v e n B I Z | S e p t e m b e r / O c t o b e r 2 0 1 9 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m I'm not sure I agree. But I do know this: We have not achieved full potential in marketing Con- necticut and the strengths that we have as a state [to companies outside of Connecticut]. [Under the previous administration] We got complacent, we got back on our heels, we said, 'We don't have a lot of big companies — we don't need big companies.' We lost sight of some things, and we need to get it back and get some focus and get some passion to address these is- sues. ere's low-hanging fruit out there [among potential companies to relocate to Connecticut] if we can go and tell a better story. But we just haven't done it — haven't done it in any kind of constructive or super-aggressive way. What are logical companies to set up shop in Connecticut if they're not here already? We haven't really thought about that programmatically or aggressive or constructively. at's what I'm hee to do. n T H E L O O P ON THE RECORD: Q&A CERC's 'Super Turbo-Charger' Continued from Page 7 so we very quickly found common ground and common threads. He's pretty committed to the state and he's working his tail off, and that's inspir- ing. We're all really doubling down here to do a better job — not that it hadn't been done well in the past, but I call it really turbo-charging the [economic-development] effort — to open it up and get more alignment, more resources, and get aer it. At the highest level I think CERC will be the tip of the spear. Will CERC have a mechanism to di- rectly interface with the people who make the laws in this state? There is a disconnect between the people working to keep companies here and the people who pass laws that drive them out of Connecticut. ere should be — 100 percent. Because [legislators] are obviously stakeholders in this whole under- taking. But I am a pragmatist and a problem-solver, and I am going to find ways to educate and influence [lawmakers] in a thoughtful and constructive way. Connecticut has become exemplar of the business-hostile state that companies can't wait to leave.