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MassDevelopment In The News
Worcester Set to be a Driver of Massachusetts' Economy - As I See It
February 12, 2007: Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Editorial by Robert L. Culver
With the Statehouse in Boston and the Finance Control Board in Springfield, recent coverage of the commonwealth’s political economy see-sawed between eastern and western Massachusetts cities. While these two cities will continue to receive considerable attention, Worcester is poised to assume headliner status as well. Like a fulcrum, Worcester has played an important but hidden role. Due to its large size, central geography and some new factors, Worcester is ready to play a more prominent part in the Bay State economy.
While campaigning, Deval L. Patrick and Timothy P. Murray focused on cities, sparking a trend that continues to grow. The Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association and the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations prepared a report entitled "The State of the Cities" and released it in Worcester in December. In January, Mr. Patrick and Mr. Murray held inaugural celebrations in communities across the commonwealth. This month, the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research will hold an event entitled Revitalizing Middle Cities: The 7th Annual Center for Urban Entrepreneurship Conference.
Worcester’s moment has arrived, in part, because city leaders are well-placed to exert power in both Boston and Washington. Mr. Murray himself holds the second-highest statewide office after serving as Worcester’s mayor for three terms. In Washington, U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, a Worcester native, sits as the second-ranking Democrat on the powerful House Rules Committee, the gatekeeper for deciding whether legislation goes to the House for consideration.
Just as Mr. McGovern served for years on the staff of former U.S. Rep. Joseph J. Moakley before going on to become a leader in his own right, former McGovern chief of staff and current state Sen. Edward M. Augustus Jr., co-chair of the Central Massachusetts Legislative Caucus, understands how to pull the levers of power in Boston and Washington to the benefit of his Worcester constituency. The rest of the Worcester delegation is also extremely well-positioned to help the city prosper.
Transportation presents a high-profile challenge for Worcester that these leaders should act quickly to resolve. Worcester needs to deploy its newfound political muscle to move heavy structural barriers that block the city from realizing its potential. Unlike Fall River, New Bedford and Springfield, Worcester already connects to Boston via commuter rail. The current train service, while a plus, does not run regularly or reliably enough for either commuters or reverse commuters.
This failing inspired Murray to run for statewide office, where he now occupies a position of strength from which to deal with CSX, the freight carrier that owns track linking the commonwealth’s biggest cities. If Murray continues to lead the charge rhetorically and can find the right combination of federal and state funds to make CSX whole, he can finally loosen the logjam that prevents Worcester from having the kind of first-rate rail service that it needs to prosper.
Fortunately, Worcester has economic-development opportunities in both traditional and cutting-edge industries. "Measuring Up? The Cost of Doing Business in Massachusetts," a white paper issued by the Pioneer Institute in October, notes that manufacturers of both plastics products and precision metal make higher profits in Worcester than they do in competitor cities like Newark, New York and Providence. In addition to its manufacturing base, Worcester shows strength in biotechnology as evidenced by companies like Blue Sky Biotech and incubators like the Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives, two MassDevelopment clients in Worcester that have both recently received Emerging Technology Fund loans.
Visionary developments like Berkeley Investment Inc.’s CitySquare project will increase the attractiveness of Worcester as a place to work, live and visit and push the city to the precipice of a new era. With its Main Street office that it shares with the Worcester Business Development Corp. and statewide resources, MassDevelopment will continue to provide funding to effect this transition. For example, MassDevelopment has issued more than $380 million in bonds over the last seven years for all six private Worcester colleges that participate in the Colleges of Worcester Consortium, which ensures that Worcester will enjoy regular infusions of young people who bring life and ideas to cities. The willingness of private entities to purchase these bonds reflects a positive attitude toward Worcester as a city worthy of investment.
With important private, public and quasi-public entities coming together, Worcester can take off and help Massachusetts race ahead in the globally competitive marketplace of the 21st century. In Worcester, MassDevelopment looks forward to continuing to work with city officials, private investors, and local banks to keep building momentum in the commonwealth’s second-largest city. As goes Worcester, so goes Massachusetts.
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