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Ventura County Civic Alliance update for May 15 — Welcome to Our Spring 2019 Livable Communities Newsletter!

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Livable Communities Newsletter
Vol. 13, No. 50
May 2019
Quick Links

– See the Current State of the Region Report

– Last Quarter’s Newsletter

 
Welcome to Our Spring 2019 Livable Communities Newsletter! 
This edition of our Livable Communities Newsletter is dedicated solely to California’s growing economic inequality and the important focus that this being placed on this topic by the Ventura County Economic Vitality Strategic Planning (EVSP) Steering Committee and other regional organizations preparing for the eighth annual California Economic Summit in Fresno on November 7-8, 2019.
The underlying approach to the current summit will be very understandable to members and followers of the Ventura County Civic Alliance who believe in the value of a “3E” focus that in Summit terms is called the triple bottom line:
Social Equity
Economic Prosperity
Environmental Sustainability
This newsletter starts with the severe problem statement and outlines what the Summit might be able to do. The next article reviews the prework leading up to the Summit and how the regional work comes together to establish a statewide California vision and approaches to deliver it.
The final article outlines challenges in 4 categories offered by the 2019 Summit called the California Economy’s Million Challenges.

California can do better a better job of spreading the wealth of its economy beyond the richest 10% of the state. Please read and engage, and let us know what you think by contacting us at:  info@CivicAlliance.org
Thanks,
Stacy Roscoe

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

In Which California Do You Live?
The state of California has a problem that can be summarized by the following data showing the % change in real income since 1980:
California’s 10% Richest: 37% real income growth
California Medium Earner: 8% real income growth
California’s Poorest 20% : -10% real income (negative) growth
California is growing and wealth is increasing, but this wealth is not being seen by 90% of its population.
In 2012, California Forward, a bipartisan good government reform effort to improve performance and democracy, and the California Stewardship Network, an alliance promoting economic vitality, hosted the first California Economic Summit.
As stated on the California Economic Summit website (caeconomy.org): “The Summit connected regional and state leaders to develop a shared agenda to generate jobs and improve regional competitiveness. In preparation for the Summit, regional forums were held around the state to identify economic opportunities and set priorities for state and regional action. Then the Summit brought together state, regional and community champions to collaborate and adopt initiatives.”
This process continues today, and the eighth annual Summit is coming to Fresno on November 7-8, 2019.
The underlying approach to the current Summit will be very understandable to members of the Ventura County Civic Alliance who believe in the value of a “3E” focus that in Summit terms is called the triple bottom line:
Social Equity
Economic Prosperity
Environmental Sustainability
For 2019, the Summit prework is very similar to what was done for the first summit in terms of working locally across the state to identify the issues important to each region. According to Summit Steering Committee Member Bruce Stenslie, “The California Stewardship Network will partner with the Brookings Institution to create a set of actionable regional economic development implementation plans or ‘punch lists’ for the diverse economic regions of California.  The activity will be critical for refreshing a ‘regions up’ triple bottom line statewide economic development strategy. The interests and economic realities of the different areas of the state will be identified in this process. The ‘Roadmap to Shared Prosperity,’ published annually by California Forward, will capture activities associated with the California Economic Summit that it hosts in partnership with the California Stewardship Network.”

Local Work Required to Generate This Prework
Different regions are at different places in terms of the extent to which they have used a process of cross sector buy-in to develop strategic plans for inclusive and environmentally sustainable economic growth. In regions such as Ventura County, the work of the Economic Vitality Strategic Plan (EVSP) Steering Committee is critical because of its enlightened scope for building economic vitality within the framework of real “3E” balance. (See the August 15, 2018 edition of our Livable Communities Newsletter, which discusses the strength of this work within the context of the “3E” or triple bottom line focus.)
Regional punch lists will be generated locally, and will include 8-10 priority actions that the state can take to assist these areas in executing on their economic development strategies. These punch lists have these three characteristics:

1. Regional generation

2. Cross-sector buy-in

3. Articulated actions needed from government, especially state government

Drafts of these lists were completed in April, and are being circulated to refine the details. According to Bruce Stenslie, “Throughout this project, regional leaders will be asked to provide feedback on the proposed lists and the project team will work to make sure the lists are comparable across regions and are actionable through private effort and public policy. The goal of this phase of the project is a set of working documents – completed before June 30 – that spring from and complement publicly published economic strategies. These documents will serve a basis for a briefing to the Newsom Administration and will be a part of the process leading up to the California Economic Summit and the new iteration of the ‘Roadmap to Shared Prosperity.'”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                   California Economy’s Million Challenges
                  
 Four Major Challenges Have been offered for the 2019 Summit:
 
                  
One Million More Skilled Workers (gig workers)
          Support irregular workers
          Expand Employer Partnerships
          Improve Regional Collaboration
          Promote Lifelong Learning
One Million More Livable Wage Jobs
          Regions-up prosperity strategy
          Address Workforce shortages
          High standards to attract investment
One Million More Homes
          Define where to build
          Help Communities pay for new housing
One Million More Acre-Feet of Water each year for 10 years
          Support watershed sustainability
          Promote groundwater recharge
          Pilot ecosystem services initiatives

See More Details on pages 8 – 11 of the “2019 Roadmap to Shared Prosperity” document.

 
 

A Special Thank You Goes to Our State of the Region Report Sponsors:


Research Sponsor – 

Ventura County Community Foundation
Presenting Sponsor – 

Ventura County Community College District
Domain Sponsors – 
Aera Energy
AT&T
California Lutheran University
California State University Channel Islands
County of Ventura
Gene Haas Foundation
Limoneira
Montecito Bank & Trust
Southern California Edison
United Staffing Associates
VCDSA – Ventura County Deputy Sheriff’s Association
Supporting Sponsors –
The Port of Hueneme
Ventura County Coastal Association of Realtors
Ventura County Office of Education
Contributing Sponsors –
City of Ventura Community Development Department
Ferguson Case Orr Paterson LLP
Gold Coast Transit
Maron Computer Services
Procter & Gamble Paper Products Company
SESPE CONSULTING INC.
Stacy and Kerry Roscoe
Ventura County Transportation Commission
Friend Sponsors –
California Lutheran University Center for Nonprofit Leadership
Dyer Sheehan Group, Inc.
Friends of the Santa Clara River
Kate McLean
Sherie and Joe Gibson
Slover Memorial Fund
United Way of Ventura County
Ventura College Foundation
Media Sponsor –
Pacific Coast Business Times