David C. Hollister
Position: Director, Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry
Services.
Educational Background: Honorary law degree, master’s and
bachelor’s degrees, Michigan State University.
Professional Background: Mayor of Lansing, 1993-2002, spurring
major new economic development projects. State representative, 1974 to
1993, serving on the Appropriations Committee for 16 years. Ingham County
Board of Commissioners, 1968 to 1974. Previously served as assistant adjunct
professor, College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University, and
on the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Public Service Visiting Committee
at Albion College. Also, director of Cristo Rey Community Center’s
Re-Entry Program for Spanish-speaking high school dropouts in Lansing,
teacher in Lansing’s Eastern High School, teacher in Durand Public
Schools and volunteer teacher in Mississippi’s Freedom Schools and
at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi.
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Q: How do you plan to duplicate Lansing’s successes
for the entire state?
A. The governor refers to Lansing’s success as the “Lansing
Model.” All of Lansing’s successes have resulted from a strategy
that involves inclusiveness, collaboration and bringing all the stakeholders
to the table to find win-win solutions. Gov. Granholm has asked me to
do on the state level what we have done in Lansing.
We also must focus on keeping what we have. When I was
Lansing’s mayor, we used that process with General Motors. That winning
strategy has made Lansing the only community in the world in which an
auto manufacturer has committed to build two new state-of-the-art assembly
plants. Together they represent an investment of $1.5 billion in the Lansing
region, and are testament to what the “Lansing Model” is all
about.
Q: What specific steps does that include?
A. I will create a broad-based Council of Economic Advisers. Council members
will emphasize inclusiveness, and will develop strategies to make Michigan
number one in job creation and growth of new businesses. Currently, we’re
meeting with major pharmaceutical concerns like Dow Chemical and Pfizer,
as well as major auto manufacturers and their suppliers. The focus is
on retaining what we have to ensure Michigan’s continued strength
and vitality, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)
is a major part of that strategy.
Also critical to our state’s economic success is
building collaboration with the legislature. As a Democrat, Gov. Granholm
has reached out to legislators on the other side of the aisle.
Q: How do you plan to incorporate the development and
use of technology into your statewide economic development strategy?
A. Gov. Granholm has proposed a Technology Tri-Corridor that builds on
the successes of the Life Sciences Corridor, a commitment made by then-Gov.
Engler to allocate $50 million per year for 20 years to create cutting-edge
businesses centered on life sciences.
We’re adding the disciplines of homeland security
and automotive energy and efficiency, to move us toward a hydrogen-fuel-based
automobile. We think that the auto industry will be reinvented over the
next 15 years. To meet this challenge, we have to rethink the industry
and build a new infrastructure to support it.
Q: Your strategy contains many ingredients. How do
you plan to effectively combine all these elements into a coordinated
plan?
A. The governor has asked me to reconfigure departments of state government
and make them more action-oriented. I will be leading the soon-to-be-created
Department of Labor, Economic Growth and Urban Development, which will
combine the operations of the old departments of labor, commerce, licensing
and regulation. The Michigan State Housing Development Authority, the
Broadband Authority and the MEDC will also report to me, as will the Life
Sciences Corridor and the Technology Tri-Corridor.
The key to Michigan’s success involves getting all
these arrows pointing in the right direction to leverage resources.
Q: How does the retail industry fit into your strategy?
A. In Lansing, the Frandor Shopping Center was considered the city’s
retail anchor, and it needed attention. When we began to develop a strategy
for its revitalization, many thought other new developments around the
city would stifle our efforts. But we cooperated with the mall’s
leaders to make it happen.
It’s no secret that retail is what drives the economy.
Eighty percent of economic growth comes from consumer spending. In Lansing,
we focused on downtown revitalization, and on recruiting retail businesses
and other entities that were unique to the downtown area. In the process,
we also fostered loft development.
Revitalizing a downtown area is not a single strategy.
It’s a combination of elements that includes businesses, housing
and other services. You have to stay focused on the whole picture to achieve
success.
Q: Will there be any state incentives for retail development?
A. Incentives are not out of the question, but most incentives in place
today are focused on manufacturing and life science entities. But we will
soon add a small-business member to the MEDC board who can help us with
strategies for retail development and recruitment.
Q: Will state budget cuts hurt your efforts?
A. I look at cuts in the state budget as an opportunity to do things differently.
It’s nothing to wring your hands over. It’s simply reality.
We think creatively, and we ask our employees for suggestions. These are
people who have been around a long time.
Q: How do you view your transition from local to state
government?
A. It’s a different atmosphere. As mayor, everyone knows you, hugs
you, stops you on the street for a conversation and doesn’t hesitate
to call you at home because the dog’s barking next door. There was
always a great deal of personal interaction. My position as director is
much more formal and bureaucratic. When my office was opened on my first
day, my wife and I welcomed everyone by offering donuts and coffee. I
was surprised to hear a number of longtime state employees say they had
never been inside the director’s office, and some of them had been
involved in state government for 15 to 20 years or more.
Being director of the Department of Consumer and Industry
Services is a fun job. It’s very rewarding, and Gov. Granholm is
very empowering.
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