Advocacy Forum

By Brian Kennedy, Vice President of Government Relations, Pittsburgh Technology Council

This month for a few short hours, the international media, global leaders and, indeed, the eyes of the world will be upon Pittsburgh – many of which will be seeing and experiencing our city for the very first time.

Though the magnitude of this opportunity is perhaps difficult to overstate, in an ironic way, perhaps the most enduring consequence of the 2009 G-20

Summit will be the opportunity it presents for Pittsburghers to view their city with the same fresh perspective as our international visitors.

No doubt, Pittsburghers will emerge from the G-20 Summit feeling even stronger about their city’s future and the role that they can play in its success.

As an early opportunity to carry this fresh perspective into the future, the 2010 gubernatorial election will provide Pennsylvanians with a rare opportunity to reengineer their state government to meet the challenges of this century.

After all, by the end of next year, the current recession will likely have resulted in the elimination or reduction of most, if not all of the discretionary spending items in Pennsylvania’s annual operating budget.

In the aftermath of these unprecedented spending reductions, the next governor will be uniquely positioned to design a 21st century economic growth strategy from the ground up.

With limited resources at his or her disposal, whatever strategy is deployed by the next governor will need to be well informed and highly focused. This is where you come in. After all, if you are reading this article, you likely understand the important role that the innovation economy is playing in our region’s success and you can offer more than a few real life examples of how government has hindered or, in some cases, accelerated your success.

To help carry your story to Harrisburg, in the coming months the Council will convene candidate forums for you to interact personally with the emerging gubernatorial candidates.

Beyond candidate forums, the Council will also seek technology leaders to participate in hill days and to testify in front of key committees about business climate, economic development and pressing workforce development-related issues.

Though many technology leaders have already taken an active role in promoting the technology sector in our state capital, we are always looking for new leaders to join in our efforts.

If you are interested in becoming involved in the Council’s advocacy efforts and working with us to build a more responsive government, please contact me at bkennedy@pghtech.org.