Silver Springer
February 9th, 2007, 08:53 PM
O’Malley tabs Edgerley for DBED
Former Montgomery chief to head economic agency
by Kevin J. Shay | Staff Writer
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About two months after he was dismissed as Montgomery County’s economic development chief, David W. Edgerley is moving to a bigger stage
Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) this week named Edgerley secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.
DBED’s budget is $145.5 million this fiscal year, compared with $9.8 million for Montgomery’s economic development department. The state department also has more than 300 employees, roughly six times the county agency’s size.
If confirmed by the state Senate, Edgerley would succeed Aris Melissaratos, who resigned last month after four years. Clarence T. Bishop, O’Malley’s former chief of staff as Baltimore mayor, has been interim DBED secretary.
Despite Edgerley’s dismissal by Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) following 12 years with the county, officials in the economic development department expect to have a good working relationship with Edgerley, said Patrick Lacefield, a county spokesman.
Besides working to attract and retain companies throughout the state, DBED focuses on increasing exports to foreign nations and expanding tourism.
‘‘County Executive Leggett decided he wanted to go in a different direction,” Lacefield said. ‘‘By no means did that mean we don’t appreciate what David did for the county. He will do an excellent job for the state.”
Leggett previously said two priorities were to do a ‘‘better job of helping small businesses” and improve how the county attracts and retains businesses.
Edgerley, 55, said Thursday he was pleased with his accomplishments in Montgomery, such as expanding the county’s biotechnology industry, and that he looked forward to working with Montgomery’s new economic development officials, as well as others across Maryland.
‘‘I signed up to serve at the pleasure of the county executive,” Edgerley said. ‘‘He wanted to go in a different direction.... I applaud that and support that decision. It turned out to be one of the best things to happen in my career. It gave me free agent status, so I could move on to the DBED position.”
O’Malley has proposed cutting DBED’s fiscal 2008 budget by 11 percent to $129.4 million, mostly from the division that oversees financial incentives used to help attract or retain businesses. The 2008 budget would still be a 26 percent increase from the fiscal 2006 budget.
Edgerley said he plans to improve DBED’s reporting to the Legislature and other state departments to ‘‘demonstrate the need” for programs such as the financial incentives. He also plans to work on making Maryland more competitive in the global economy, expanding the state’s biotechnology and life sciences industry, making the state ‘‘more business-friendly” and protecting working families.
‘‘Maryland is already business-friendly,” Edgerley said. ‘‘But you can always do better.”
Some who have worked with Edgerley praised his professionalism and effectiveness, especially in helping to grow Montgomery’s biotechnology industry.
‘‘He will be a deal maker, not a cheerleader,” said Phillip Singerman, former executive director of the Maryland Technology Development Corp., which is affiliated with DBED. ‘‘He will fight for his department. ... He combines management and broad experience in Maryland.”
Allegany days
Before the Montgomery job, Edgerley was director of Allegany County’s economic development department. He was instrumental in helping attract new businesses after the Kelly-Springfield Tire Co. plant closed in the late 1980s, said Matthew Diaz, director of the Allegany County Department of Economic Development.
‘‘He was here at a very tough time,” Diaz said. ‘‘The county had high unemployment levels, and he deserves a lot of credit for helping to bring those down to average levels.”
In Allegany, Edgerley said he learned the ‘‘value of every single job and to make sure opportunities are not lost.”
Allegany’s department, like those in other Maryland counties, works closely with DBED to attract and retain businesses, and having a DBED secretary who knows the ‘‘lay of the land” in two fairly different counties will be a plus, Diaz said. Allegany’s job base is largely in manufacturing, although the county is attracting more high-tech jobs, he said. Montgomery is a haven for high-tech, professional services employment and houses more biotechnology companies than any other county in Maryland.
During Edgerley’s tenure in Montgomery, the county embarked on an estimated $1 billion revitalization of downtown Silver Spring and the $350 million Rockville Town Square project, and established incubator facilities for startup businesses.
‘‘In Montgomery, we had high-profile, world-class opportunities,” Edgerley said. ‘‘They were not just in biotechnology, but in other industries, such as defense, finance and real estate.”
A recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a much higher growth in professional and business services jobs in Fairfax County, Va., between 1990 and 2005 than in Montgomery and most other area counties.
Such trends are cyclical and should be viewed more in a regional sense than by individual counties, Edgerley said. ‘‘Most other regions in the country would be envious of the job growth in the [Washington, D.C.] region,” he said.
Edgerley, a Germantown resident, has also chaired the Greater Washington Initiative — the economic development research arm of the Greater Washington Board of Trade — and was president of the Maryland Economic Development Association.
Edgerley earned a master’s in business administration from Mount St. Mary’s University and a bachelor’s degree from Frostburg State University.
Staff Writer Steve Monroe contributed to this report.
Former Montgomery chief to head economic agency
by Kevin J. Shay | Staff Writer
E-mail this article \ Print this article
About two months after he was dismissed as Montgomery County’s economic development chief, David W. Edgerley is moving to a bigger stage
Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) this week named Edgerley secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.
DBED’s budget is $145.5 million this fiscal year, compared with $9.8 million for Montgomery’s economic development department. The state department also has more than 300 employees, roughly six times the county agency’s size.
If confirmed by the state Senate, Edgerley would succeed Aris Melissaratos, who resigned last month after four years. Clarence T. Bishop, O’Malley’s former chief of staff as Baltimore mayor, has been interim DBED secretary.
Despite Edgerley’s dismissal by Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) following 12 years with the county, officials in the economic development department expect to have a good working relationship with Edgerley, said Patrick Lacefield, a county spokesman.
Besides working to attract and retain companies throughout the state, DBED focuses on increasing exports to foreign nations and expanding tourism.
‘‘County Executive Leggett decided he wanted to go in a different direction,” Lacefield said. ‘‘By no means did that mean we don’t appreciate what David did for the county. He will do an excellent job for the state.”
Leggett previously said two priorities were to do a ‘‘better job of helping small businesses” and improve how the county attracts and retains businesses.
Edgerley, 55, said Thursday he was pleased with his accomplishments in Montgomery, such as expanding the county’s biotechnology industry, and that he looked forward to working with Montgomery’s new economic development officials, as well as others across Maryland.
‘‘I signed up to serve at the pleasure of the county executive,” Edgerley said. ‘‘He wanted to go in a different direction.... I applaud that and support that decision. It turned out to be one of the best things to happen in my career. It gave me free agent status, so I could move on to the DBED position.”
O’Malley has proposed cutting DBED’s fiscal 2008 budget by 11 percent to $129.4 million, mostly from the division that oversees financial incentives used to help attract or retain businesses. The 2008 budget would still be a 26 percent increase from the fiscal 2006 budget.
Edgerley said he plans to improve DBED’s reporting to the Legislature and other state departments to ‘‘demonstrate the need” for programs such as the financial incentives. He also plans to work on making Maryland more competitive in the global economy, expanding the state’s biotechnology and life sciences industry, making the state ‘‘more business-friendly” and protecting working families.
‘‘Maryland is already business-friendly,” Edgerley said. ‘‘But you can always do better.”
Some who have worked with Edgerley praised his professionalism and effectiveness, especially in helping to grow Montgomery’s biotechnology industry.
‘‘He will be a deal maker, not a cheerleader,” said Phillip Singerman, former executive director of the Maryland Technology Development Corp., which is affiliated with DBED. ‘‘He will fight for his department. ... He combines management and broad experience in Maryland.”
Allegany days
Before the Montgomery job, Edgerley was director of Allegany County’s economic development department. He was instrumental in helping attract new businesses after the Kelly-Springfield Tire Co. plant closed in the late 1980s, said Matthew Diaz, director of the Allegany County Department of Economic Development.
‘‘He was here at a very tough time,” Diaz said. ‘‘The county had high unemployment levels, and he deserves a lot of credit for helping to bring those down to average levels.”
In Allegany, Edgerley said he learned the ‘‘value of every single job and to make sure opportunities are not lost.”
Allegany’s department, like those in other Maryland counties, works closely with DBED to attract and retain businesses, and having a DBED secretary who knows the ‘‘lay of the land” in two fairly different counties will be a plus, Diaz said. Allegany’s job base is largely in manufacturing, although the county is attracting more high-tech jobs, he said. Montgomery is a haven for high-tech, professional services employment and houses more biotechnology companies than any other county in Maryland.
During Edgerley’s tenure in Montgomery, the county embarked on an estimated $1 billion revitalization of downtown Silver Spring and the $350 million Rockville Town Square project, and established incubator facilities for startup businesses.
‘‘In Montgomery, we had high-profile, world-class opportunities,” Edgerley said. ‘‘They were not just in biotechnology, but in other industries, such as defense, finance and real estate.”
A recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a much higher growth in professional and business services jobs in Fairfax County, Va., between 1990 and 2005 than in Montgomery and most other area counties.
Such trends are cyclical and should be viewed more in a regional sense than by individual counties, Edgerley said. ‘‘Most other regions in the country would be envious of the job growth in the [Washington, D.C.] region,” he said.
Edgerley, a Germantown resident, has also chaired the Greater Washington Initiative — the economic development research arm of the Greater Washington Board of Trade — and was president of the Maryland Economic Development Association.
Edgerley earned a master’s in business administration from Mount St. Mary’s University and a bachelor’s degree from Frostburg State University.
Staff Writer Steve Monroe contributed to this report.