2017 Republican gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie today announced a detailed plan to grow the economy, a culmination of the policy proposals he has put forward. As governor, Gillespie will grow the innovation economy and reform economic development. This is Gillespie’s nineteenth major policy announcement in his campaign, and fifteenth since becoming his party’s nominee.
Speaking about the announcement, Gillespie said, “In order to grow our economy, we should not try to become a carbon copy of Austin, Boston or Silicon Valley, but rather we should do what Virginians have been doing since 1607: claiming leadership.”
“During my term as governor, Virginia led the nation as a model for economic development with over 300,000 net new private sector jobs created during those 4 years,” said Honorary Policy Chair and former governor George Allen. “Ed Gillespie’s plan rightly captures the opportunity set before Virginia: we need to take advantage of our natural assets and location, improve the competitiveness of our business climate, and focus on research to grow the innovation economy. Ed’s comprehensive policy agenda will make opportunities in life better for all Virginians.”
“Virginians need Ed Gillespie’s leadership to help get our economy growing again,” added Speaker Bill Howell. “Voters should be impressed with the level of detail Ed has put forward. As Virginians cast their vote in November, they should consider the stark contrast between the candidates in this race: Ed has a serious plan to grow our economy and his opponent has no vision nor seemingly any demonstrable understanding of the causes for our economic stagnation.”
Policy Leadership Team Co-Chair Speaker-designee Kirk Cox said, “For nearly eight months, Ed Gillespie has waged the most thoughtful, policy-oriented campaign in recent memory. His economic growth plan demonstrates his understanding of the Virginia economy, and what our Commonwealth needs to restore its rightful place as one of the best places in the nation to start and grow a business. Ed is the most qualified, prepared, and substantive candidate for governor and his 19 major policies, including this one, prove that. Ed will be a governor for all Virginians.”
“Virginia needs Ed Gillespie’s leadership,” said Policy Leadership Team Co-Chair Senator Mark Obenshain. “Put simply: Ed has a masterful understanding of the reforms we must undertake to unleash economic growth. Ed’s ideas will move Virginia into a new generation of economic growth and prosperity. I look forward to working with him to reorient our economic development programs to foster more natural, organic growth.”
“Ed Gillespie has made his commitment to growing Virginia’s economy clear, and his clear policy proposals support the small business community,” added Fernando Torrez, a Northern Virginia small business owner. “He has backed it up with detailed policy proposals to make it happen. As a small business owner, I am confident Ed is the only candidate that can unleash our economy. He is the leader we require.”
From 1607 to 2017: Claiming Leadership
An Economic Growth Plan for Virginia
Hourly wage growth is down. Business rankings have declined drastically. Virginia is lagging in economic growth. In 2016, we ranked 39th in the nation with 0.6 percent economic growth.
This year’s gubernatorial election presents two choices: One choice is about policies favoring long term economic growth that will provide jobs and prosperity. The other is to favor approaches that grow government, saddle the private economy and taxpayers, stall economic growth, and make it difficult for Virginia to compete successfully with other states.
Because economic growth is so important, and because it is often difficult to see the relationship between high taxes and overly stringent regulation, on the one hand, and slow growth on the other, we must reset our economic growth mindset.
Every state and local government imposition—taxes, regulations, restrictions, permitting or processing delays, inability to decide, inability to provide a mechanism for efficient resolution of disputes—should be seen through the prism of its impact on economic development and growth. There should be no acceptance for inefficiency and unnecessary bureaucracy at any level of government.
Without a shared competitive mindset, jobs will be more difficult for the private sector to create and attract; government action and inaction will stifle growth and productivity; and Virginia will lose ground as a place for business formation, expansion and investment. We’ve already begun to lose that ground. And worst, the hardest hit will be those with the fewest options for economic opportunity.
Ed Gillespie has a three-pronged approach to growing our economy:
- THE FOR ALL VIRGINIANS AGENDA
- RESET ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
- GROW THE INNOVATION ECONOMY
FOR ALL VIRGINIANS AGENDA
Ed Gillespie has put forward detailed policy proposals which have as their principle goal growing our economy.
Ed believes that the best economic development strategy is to allow people to keep more of their own money so that they can buy new homes, invest in their kids education, and grow their businesses. He proposes a ten percent across-the-board cut to Virginia’s individual income tax rates and a plan to reform local business taxes.
It is not the role of government to create jobs but to foster the right conditions for entrepreneurs to create jobs and let businesses grow, which is why Ed also has a comprehensive regulatory reform platform to reduce outdated regulation and burdensome licensure requirements.
RESET ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
- Improve Virginia’s Economic Development Partnership
- Incentive Review and Reform
- Regional Strategies for Growth
- Elevate the Secretary of Technology and the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT)
- Establish the Office of Workforce Transformation
- Create a Net Jobs Metric
- Review and Inventory Assets
- Improve and Grow Virginia’s Site Readiness Efforts
GROW THE INNOVATION ECONOMY
Virginia is home to world-class universities and research centers. We are also home to a population that is hungry for entrepreneurial opportunities. Blockbuster innovations start as concepts that can be tested, confirmed, improved and eventually, commercialized. This requires the right mix of talent, capital, freedom and resources. We should not endeavor to become a carbon copy of Austin, Boston or Silicon Valley, but rather we should do what Virginians have been doing since 1607: claim leadership.
- Research, Technology-transfer and Commercialization
- Acceleration
- Access to Capital
The full plan can be found HERE. Gillespie has released eighteen other major policy proposals including:
- The “Cutting Taxes for ALL Virginians” Plan cuts individual income tax rates by ten percent across-the-board, putting nearly $1,300 more in the pocket of a family of four and creating more than 50,000 new full-time private sector jobs.
- The “FAITH In Our Government for ALL Virginians” Plan will close loopholes and give Virginians a better opportunity to hold elected leaders accountable for their actions.
- The “Efficiency + Effectiveness: A Government that Works for ALL Virginians” Plan will reorient government to more successfully address Virginia’s problems, demand evidence-based solutions, right-size our government to better steward taxpayer dollars, and incentivize our state government workforce to be more responsive to the needs of all Virginians.
- The “Removing Barriers to Job Creation for ALL Virginians” Plan will bring meaningful reform to remove barriers to job creation, making it easier for businesses to grow and thrive in the Commonwealth. It focuses on standing up for Virginia’s job creators, reforming Virginia’s regulatory climate, reforming occupational licensing and streamlining business formation.
- The Mental Health, Addiction, and Recovery Agenda will improve Virginia’s behavioral health system and address all facets of the opioid and heroin addiction crisis, including prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery.
- The Veterans and Military Affairs Agenda will improve career opportunities for veterans, give veterans a greater voice in our government, support our military and their families, and care for our veterans and their families.
- The “Job One: Keeping Virginia Safe” Plan will improve public safety in Virginia by eradicating gangs, reforming the system, and rewarding those who serve and protect.
- The Agriculture and Forestry Agenda shows exactly how Gillespie will champion Virginia’s agriculture and forestry industries, prioritizing efforts to expand exports and open new markets for Virginia products.
- “An Excellent Education for ALL Virginians” Plan will strengthen Virginia’s education system, ensure that every child, in every community, has access to a high quality, safe and student-focused public education, and better align our workforce development system with the demands of the marketplace of today and the future.
- The Six Point Sea Level Rise Action Plan will take proactive steps to enhance infrastructure, empower cities and regions to lead, flood proof our military installations and fight for more affordable flood insurance for Virginia families and businesses.
- The Plan to Expand Access to High Speed Internet will remove regulatory barriers and finance broadband deployment to provide more reliable internet access to Virginians in every corner of the Commonwealth.
- The “Outdoor Dominion” Initiative to make Virginia the outdoor recreation leader of the East Coast.
- “The Energy to Power Families, Jobs and Investment” Plan to secure abundant energy resources and competitive energy prices that protect citizens from high energy costs, and attract the businesses that provide new jobs.
- Higher Education Plan for ALL Virginians to forge three types of strategic partnerships related to higher education: a major new business-education partnership, a new spirit of partnership between the Commonwealth and our colleges, and a consumer-focused partnership between higher education institutions and the students and families they serve.
- Criminal Justice Plan to to bring tough, fair, and smart reforms to Virginia’s criminal justice system.
- The Striving for Impact Plan will deploy the Collective Impact Model to address complicated, seemingly intractable problems.
- “Route Causes: A Better Transportation System for ALL Virginians” details how Gillespie will effectively administer transportation funding, establish a transportation lock box, and advance comprehensive transportation improvements to improve our transportation system.
- “Health In Our Commonwealth” will improve health outcomes for ALL Virginians by ensuring a high-quality safety net, reforming and eliminating regulatory hurdles, and setting long-term strategy to provide predictability to providers, payers and patients.
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