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| | Syndicated columnist promotes regionalism
Wednesday, Sep 15, 2004 By Wesley Brown Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Nationally syndicated columnist Neal Peirce said Arkansas is at similar crossroads it faced some 35 years ago after former Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller replaced Orval Faubus as governor. Peirce, whose columns on state and regional trends are syndicated by the Washington Post Writers Group, was the keynote speaker Tuesday morning at all-day conference at the Little Rock Hilton called "Regional Stewardship: A Discussion of Central Arkansas' Future." Peirce said Central Arkansas should take a serious look at promoting regionalism, or merging the myriad of Pulaski County governments and services. The newspaper columnist is the author of a 10-book series on regionalism called "The Book of America: Inside 50 States Today." Peirce also is known widely for his lectures on regional, urban, federal and community development issues. Among conference participants, which included panel discussions, presentations from city officials in Birmingham, Ala., Denver and St. Louis, were Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey, Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines, and former Secretary of State Sharon Priest, who is executive director of the Downtown Partnership. Peirce told the audience of more than 120 city and county leaders that moving forward with the concept of regionalism would be very a difficult but fruitful process if fully undertaken. "But it seems to me only logical for every region to start thinking as a unit, to tap its people and skills and try to foster a stronger economy," said Peirce, who is also chairman of CitiStates Group, a network of journalists, speakers and advisers committed to competitive and sustainable urban areas. During his 45-minute lecture, Peirce told the audience of a visit more than 35 years ago that he had with Rockefeller while an inexperienced political reporter with Congressional Quarterly. He recalled that he first met the governor, the late father of Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller, at his Winrock Farms at Petit Jean Mountain in Conway County, overlooking the Arkansas River. Peirce said at the time of the 1969 interview, Arkansas was going through "momentous changes." "We had a long interview and touched on a lot of subjects: his breakthrough with the Arkansas Industrial Development Corp., racial segregation and what he thought of his opponents in the Legislature," Peirce recalled. "But his most colorful quote of the day referred to some of his opponents ... and how the state could use a few well-timed funerals," Peirce said as the room filled with laughter. Peirce added that the thousands of manufacturing jobs that were recruited to the state in the 1960s and 1970s under Rockefeller's industrial development program, raising incomes and the standard of living for most Arkansans, may not be the answer to the state's current economy. "Fast forward to 2004 and ask yourself if industrial plant recruitment is your ticket to success in the 21st Century, when even semi-skilled jobs are suddenly outsourced to China, India or Latin American countries," Peirce said. Another conference participant, University of Arkansas economist John Shelnutt, said that merging the functions of Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County governments would not be an easy task. He mentioned past efforts to promote regionalism by Warren Stephens, president and chief executive officer of Stephens Inc. and its parent company, Stephens Group. In a speech to the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce in December 2002, Stephens said the Little Rock metropolitan area should take a serious look at merging the myriad city and county governments and services, similar to what has taken place in Louisville, Ky. Stephens said Central Arkansas could expand its profile by becoming a larger metropolitan area. He said a city of 500,000 people would put Central Arkansas on par with the 30 largest cities in the U.S., adding that individuals and corporations seeking to relocate would take a more serious look at the area if the city was larger. Also, the Central Arkansas Economic Development Alliance was formed about a year ago to create an 11-county partnership aimed at bringing outside industry and super projects to the region. The group, which represents a population base of nearly one million people, is now marketing the entire region as a major metropolitan area to out-of-state businesses. Shelnutt also mentioned the Central Arkansas Water utility, which was created to bring water to homes, businesses, and industries in Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood, Wrightsville, Alexander, Cammack Village, and unincorporated areas of Pulaski County. "It makes good economic sense and would be beneficial to the whole region," Shelnutt said of a broad initiative to push the controversial concept. "But there has not been a steady push to get it done." The Arkansas News Bureau is part of Stephens Media Group, a Stephens Group company. |
