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90 Hartford Business Journal • November 26, 2012 www.HartfordBusiness.com Celebrating 20 Years of Business News FUTURE The As city of innovation, Hartford's future bright By Dannel P. Malloy O ur Capital City is one of tremendous oppor- tunity and potential. In the roughly two years that I've called Hartford 'home', I've seen impassioned efforts by state and municipal leaders to revive Hartford's economy and push the city to regain its stature as a thriving center of commerce. I've watched civic lead- ers reinvigorate neighborhoods, improve schools, strengthen quality of life, and celebrate the diversity and many cultures that make up our riverfront capi- tal. It's been a great honor to take a leadership role in these endeavors since I became Governor. Hartford is a city whose 400-year past informs its future, a city where modern architecture effortlessly takes its place next to some of the country's oldest historic landmarks. With its deep connection to the very foundation of this nation, Hartford remains a prominent Connecticut destination as well as a ris- ing economic player along the New York-Boston cor- ridor — and beyond. Our priority in state government is to re-establish Connecticut as a globally-competitive location to live and work. With directed investment like the "First Five" Program, the Small Business Express Pro- gram, the Connecticut Innovation Ecosystem, and 'Still Revolutionary' — our aggressive new tourism campaign — Hartford is re-emerging as a vital piece of our economic recovery — as well as an important draw for residents and visitors. State officials, business leaders, and municipal advocates are united in the effort to expand opportu- nity and create good paying jobs with good benefits. Working with the Department of Economic and Com- munity Development, and through the Capital Region Development Authority, we have taken a strategic approach to building the strongest, most effective state team working on behalf of the city. Over nearly two years, we have streamlined eco- nomic development activities to ensure Hartford's internationally-known venues work cooperatively in their bids to attract sports, concerts, and entertain- ment. Through the new First Five Program and other initiatives, we've ratcheted up investment downtown and in the surrounding region — our attention and commitment has cemented local relationships with CareCentrix, Cigna, and Infinity Music Hall — com- panies who will bring thousands of good new jobs to the region. Strengthening the economy requires us to address failures in our education system and the causes of Connecticut's achievement gap — the highest in the country. We know what works in education, but Connecti- cut hasn't replicated success. That means thousands of students are not prepared for the 21st Century job market, and businesses cannot find the talent they need to expand. We've committed more than $100 million to reform public schools — and focused that investment on the schools that need the most help. Hartford's Milner School, one of the lowest perform- ing schools in the state, is now receiving additional state assistance and resources as a Commissioner's Network School — and there will be 25 more Network Schools across Connecticut. From creating 1,000 new early childhood education spots, to intervening in under-performing schools, to removing bureaucratic red tape hindering successful schools, we have put in place strategies that immediately address deficien- cies in our public education system — and increase student opportunity over the long term. Each time I tour a Hartford-area business, or dine at any of the world-class restaurants, or see a show, I'm reminded that Hartford is a city of innovation — one that has re-created itself many times over the last four centuries. From its unpretentious beginnings as a Dutch trading post to its well-earned moniker "Insurance Capital of the World," we are proud of Hartford's history, and optimistic about its future. The city's partners and allies — from neighbor- hood leaders to our congressional delegation to the governor's office, are all committed to its success. Dannel P. Malloy, the former mayor of Stamford has been Connecticut's governor since 2010. H B J F I L e P H O T O ▶ ▶ ... Hartford remains a prominent Connecticut destination as well as a rising economic player along the New York-Boston corridor — and beyond. cluster relationships or whatever it might be. Hous- ing people, you do your piece. If we can stick to that and try to work together, we're going to be so much more effective. That's why I'm so optimistic about the future because I think we're starting to see that and we have so many great building blocks here in this region to build upon, which we've all talked about being location or transportation or fabulous institu- tions of higher education or the great companies that we have here in the state. We are so blessed that if we can now all play the same music, it will be lovely, lovely indeed. KISHIMOTO: I would add that, the health of your urban centers tell you a lot about the health of your state, and it is high time, and I think we are finally there where we're paying a lot of attention to the vibrancy of our urban centers in terms of everything that's happening in the city from education to business to housing to quality of life to recreation and so forth. Arts and culture. That's so important here in the State of Connecticut and that's going to then have an effect to start blur- ring the lines in our urban centers to start developing ourselves in a variety of factors in a way that really builds the state back up. LUISE: I remain optimistic. I think that there is so much to be really excited about that's happening in this region. Technology's impact to this region and vice versa, in 10 years will be yet another revolution. It's going to have an impact, but the important part is we're pre- paring our young folks for this. We're preparing our state for this. We're preparing our businesses for this so that we can collectively take advantage of what those, what those pieces are going to be and how it's going to help the state. Again, a rising tide will lift all boats. Ending up in the upper quartile of that is a great target, but the issues about leadership and how these places and how these components are all going to be playing from that same sheet of music is a great analogy because they all are very, very important. And if we miss any one of them, we're going to not be able to achieve that vision. MILLER: I guess of all the things we've discussed, I would relate most directly to the improvement of our pre-K-12 schools in this country, in the inner cities, whether it's Hartford or anywhere else. People just don't understand. They say they understand, but I think they don't understand how hard it is. It's not getting fixed in a year. It's not getting fixed in three years. It's a war. Simply put, it's a war. It's a war against crime and poverty and values and on and on and on. Then people get the idea, which is why lots of times they get the idea that this will be fixed in three years or four years or within the political horizon of an elected official, and it won't. There are places where it's happened, but they're few and far between. It's not because people aren't trying. If there's one thing that irritates me, it's the notion that well, if everybody would just get together and work on this, it would all be fine. No, it wouldn't. It's not easy to do. It's the engine for all the rest of us. But it's a battle. It takes support and it takes long-term commitment and it takes people recognizing that it isn't going to, no matter what we say, it's not going to happen overnight. GRIEBEL: I am a glass-half-full person. We have both the benefit and the obligation to this. We stand on the shoulders of those who went before us. We have extraordinary assets here. We've got a history of leadership, 300 years of it. All of us feel a certain responsibility to make sure that these next 10 years are better than the last 10. We are blessed, as I said earlier. We don't have all aces in our hands, but I like the number of face cards that we have. g THE FINAL WORD