Fall 2010
For complete daily coverage of economic development news in the South, go to www.RandleReport.com. The following editorials were published in Southern Business & Development magazine (www.SB-D.com), the parent company of SmallTownSouth.com.
Editorial
Recent Gubernatorial Elections in the South Make History
By Mike Randle
Seven new Southern governors are now transitioning power in the region. The seven new governors are in South Carolina (Gov. Nikki Haley), Oklahoma (Gov. Mary Fallin), Florida (Gov. Rick Scott), Georgia (Gov. Nathan Deal), Tennessee (Gov. Bill Haslam), West Virginia (Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin) and Alabama (Gov. Robert Bentley). The transitions will surely make for an interesting shift in economic development in the region.
Typically we would do the research -- which would be substantial -- to find out if seven new governors in one election are the most in the South's history. But with the launch of The Randle Report (www.RandleReport.com) just before the deadline of this issue, the human resources at SB&D are stretched pretty thin right now. The Randle Report is a tremendous undertaking for this little company. So, we will simply write that the seven new governors elected in the South in November were possibly the most ever elected in one day in the region's history.
Without personally knowing any of the new governors yet, except for Mary Fallin in Oklahoma, from what we have read, this is a strong group. Nikki Haley and Fallin, along with Bev Perdue in North Carolina, account for the most female governors in office ever in the South. That we know. Prior to Perdue, Fallin and Haley, there have only been seven female governors in the South since the first was elected in Texas in 1925. One of those is our good friend, former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco. (You can read Kathleen Blanco's response to former President Bush's book, "Decision Points" by going to RandleReport.com. The exclusive will be up on the site in the feature and opinion section throughout the month of January).
From all accounts, the seven new governors taking power in the South are placing economic development at the top of their agendas. Whether or not that comes true will be seen in time and SB&D will be there taking notes each and every day.
We vividly remember when some of the governors that these seven have succeeded were new, too. Sonny Perdue (Ga.) and Charlie Crist (Fla.) talked a good game when they were first elected. Neither one will go down in the history books as effective economic development governors.
Other Southern governors that have been term limited or elected to another office, such as Brad Henry (Okla.), Mark Sanford (S.C.) and Joe Manchin (W. Va.) were somewhat successful during their terms (all three were elected to second terms) as "economic development" governors. Sanford was awful in his first term. But, whether you like the "Appalachian Trail hiker" or not, he discovered the importance of prosperity for his state's citizens at some point in his second term (can you spell B-o-e-i-n-g?).
The last two Southern governors that have stepped down will be remembered as two of the best ever when it comes to success in economic development. Former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen and his economic development chief, Matt Kisber, were one of the best teams we have seen since this magazine first began tracking state performances in the South in 1992.
While starting slow in the first term, Bredesen and Kisber got their act together in the second term, one that Kisber wasn't planning on participating in. But he was convinced by Gov. Bredesen to stay on board because big deals were imminent in Tennessee. Those deals ended up being Volkswagen, Hemlock Semiconductor, Nissan and Wacker Chemie -- all $1 billion-plus projects -- among others. In short, Bredesen and Kisber became two of the South's biggest buffalo hunters and will be noted as such in the history books. After all, we named Tennessee "co-State of the Year" with Louisiana each of the last two years.
Then there is former Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and his former economic development director Neal Wade. In the eight years those two led economic development, Southern Business & Development honored Alabama with "State of the Year" five times. Since we have been keeping score, no state in the South has won "State of the Year" five times except for Alabama.
Not only is Neal Wade one of the most effective economic developers we have known, Gov. Bob Riley is one of the most, if not the most level-headed, grounded, independent and moderate governors we have known and we have known plenty of them. Riley epitomizes political rationality and we hope we see him on a larger stage in the future.
The seven new governors in the South will be joining the likes of Haley Barbour (Miss.), Bobby Jindal (La.), Rick Perry (Texas), Bob McDonnell in Virginia and Mike Beebe in Arkansas. We can't remember a time when there was a more powerful group of governors in the South. It is too bad that some of them can't keep governing such as Riley or Bredesen. Yet, we look forward to getting to know the seven new governors that are now making their mark in the South.
Mike Randle
mike@sb-d.com
Editorial
Is Volvo Site Searching the Southern Automotive Corridor Again and if so, is Huntsville, Ala. the Place?
By Mike Randle
We've heard it probably five or six times in the Southern Automotive Corridor since the early 1970s, maybe more; "Volvo is searching for a site in the South for an automotive assembly plant." Volvo's site search presumably concluded in mid-1973 when the company announced it would become the first foreign auto manufacturer to build an assembly plant in the U.S. Way back then, Volvo picked Chesapeake, Va. to start production in the spring of 1977. But the then Swedish automaker never built the Virginia plant.
There were several other Volvo near misses in the Southern Automotive Corridor over the years. There were rumors that Volvo would build a U.S. plant twice in the 1980s. In 1993 there was apparently a search. In 1996, this headline and subsequent copy came from the Greensboro (N.C.) News & Record: "Volvo Car Plant May Be Headed For Southeast" and "The Swedish carmaker may join BMW and Mercedes-Benz by building an automobile plant in the southeastern United States." Even the Wall Street Journal reported that Volvo was concentrating its search on the Interstate 85 corridor between Greensboro and Atlanta.
Today, Volvo is owned by the big Chinese automaker Geely. There is no question that Chinese automakers wish to enter the U.S. market, specifically the Southern Automotive Corridor (SAC), as have the Japanese, Germans and Koreans since Volvo made that phantom announcement way back in 1973. In fact, two automotive start ups with China ties have already announced plants in the SAC, but there is no word yet on the viability of those plans.
Volvo and Geely, on the other hand, are well known automakers and apparently Geely has some deep pockets. In our opinion, Geely and Volvo represent the best chance we've seen to date for a Chinese automaker to enter the U.S. market. Add the fact that Geely named Volkswagen's former U.S. CEO Stefan Jacoby to run Volvo back in August and you have a man in charge that has already sited a foreign auto plant in the South: Volkswagen’s plant now being finished in Chattanooga.
Take that a little further and you have this: Huntsville came in second in the Volkswagen site search back in 2008. Who headed up that search and who liked the site in Huntsville almost as much as the site in Chattanooga where VW is operating? It was Stefan Jacoby, who is now running Volvo.
So let's go ahead and break the news. While we have no confirmation that Volvo's 40-year site search continues in the Southern Automotive Corridor, we can speculate. We believe that if the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle, which is being built in Smyrna, Tenn., takes off and is a big hit, don't be surprised if Volvo enters the U.S. market with an electric vehicle built in Huntsville, Ala. at some point. (For more information on the South’s automotive industry, go to www.SouthernAutoCorridor.com.)
mike@sb-d.com
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