NewHavenBIZ

n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | J a n u a r y 2 0 2 0 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 3 F R O M T H E E D I T O R newhavenBIZ V o l u m e 3 • N u m b e r 1 • J a n u a r y 2 0 2 0 New Haven Biz 900 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510 (203)-937-2148 • www.newhavenbiz.com EDITOR Michael C. Bingham MANAGING EDITOR Michelle Tuccitto Sullo CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jessica Giannone Holly Marie LaPrade Melissa Nicefaro Natalie Missakian Wendy Pierman Mitzel Frank Rizzo Makayla Silva Karen Singer DESIGN DIRECTOR Mitchell Hayes PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Kira Beaudoin PHOTOGRAPHY Christopher Randall Andrew Venditti DIRECTOR OF SALES AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS Ronni Rabin PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER Joe Zwiebel CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Peter Stanton CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER/CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Mary Rogers GROUP PUBLISHER Donna Brassard DIGITAL DIRECTOR Jan Holder AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Kelly Ansley EDITORIAL DIRECTOR - CT Greg Bordonaro NEW HAVEN BIZ (ISSN 2639-605X), Vol. I, No. 4 is published six times annually plus two special editions by New England Business Media, 900 Chapel St., 10th Floor, New Haven, CT 06510. Copyright 2018. All rights reserved. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $29.95. To subscribe please email circulation@newhavenbiz.com or contact our circulation team at 203-937-2148 ext. 4 New Haven BIZ accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. A division of: Advertising: Ronni Rabin phone: 203-937-2148 ( x707) rrabin@newhavenbiz.com New Haven BIZ is a publication of New England Business Media, LLC. A s the third decade of the 21st century dawns, the opportu- nity for the New Haven busi- ness community to indulge in some constructive self-ex- amination seems irresistible. And yes, a little scary. From 2011 until now, New Haven's pretensions to becoming a nationally recognized innovation hub evolved from Babbitt-like cheerleading to undeniable reality. A generation ago Elm City boosters could hang their hats on "Connecti- cut's Cultural Capital," but little else. Today, an economist with a national profile such as People's United Bank's John Traynor unflinchingly refers to New Haven as "the engine of Connecticut" — a "global power- house in the 'Eds & Meds'" econo- my. Aw, shucks. On New Year's Day the city will formally welcome a new mayor — Justin Elicker, who becomes just the third municipal chief executive of the 21st century, following John DeStefano Jr. and Toni N. Harp. Few would argue that that stability at City Hall (and relatively scan- dal-free governance) has been good, as they say, for business. What will the new City Hall regime bring? Only one person really knows — and since his election became formalized last Nov. 5, Justin Elicker hasn't had a great deal to say about his overall economic-development vision. (He acknowledges the city's structural fiscal imbalance, but hasn't revealed yet whether he will be a tax-hiker or budget-cutter.) For better and worse, the news media play an outsized role in setting the agenda for government at every level. At no time is this truer than when new administrations assume office and are setting priorities for what to focus attention and effort on. e media's role in this is "outsized" for the simple reason that mayors and governors and presidents can't practically ask every New decade, new dreams voter what they would like their government to do. So they monitor the media to take voters' collective temperature and gauge what is most important to them ("the people"). And how do the media determine what's important and urgent enough to report about? Well, notwithstanding major events like disasters or mass shootings, the media mostly take their cue from what citizens tell us. In the southern Connecticut business community, those citizens are you. And the business media? at's us. What you tell us is im- portant to you is what we report on and write about. And what we write about helps to influence what public officials like Mayor Elicker and Gov. Lamont think about and react to. So now, more than ever, I urge you to contact us and tell us what you're thinking — and what we ought to be reporting about. I am certain that Justin Elicker will be paying attention. Now more than ever, I invite you to contact me at mbingham@ newhavenbiz.com. n — Michael C. Bingham Editor New Haven BIZ

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