FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Contact: David Schecter
Wednesday, January 16, 2008	559-307-7250

Focus on Local Business, Skills Training is Key to Swearengin Economic Development Plan

JANUARY 16, 2008 – Mayoral candidate Ashley Swearengin today called for a stronger emphasis on local business growth to power Fresno’s economic future. In her just-released Economic Development Plan, Swearengin calls for greater investment in workforce readiness and business-critical infrastructure to meet the needs of companies seeking to expand in Fresno.

Swearengin’s strategy outlines a number of specific actions she will take to promote a thriving economy in Fresno. These steps include launching the Fresno Business Growth Network to help local companies and start-ups navigate through procedural bottlenecks and to connect them with needed resources. Swearengin will establish this new help center within the first 100 days of her term as Mayor.

In addition, Swearengin calls for expanding job readiness in Fresno by expanding access to vocational training in collaboration with local schools and colleges. As leader of the Valley’s Regional Jobs Initiative (RJI), Swearengin has demonstrated her ability to forge collaborative solutions to address Fresno’s long- term challenges.

The restoration of Fresno’s Downtown as a thriving urban center, anchored by a vibrant Cultural Arts District, is essential to the city’s future prosperity as well, Swearengin says. To revitalize downtown, Swearingen will focus on creating a “sense of place” in the city’s central core. “Fresno’s downtown is its calling card,” she said. “It is impossible to meet our long-term goals in job creation and economic development without a thriving downtown.”

As Swearengin’s Economic Development Plan points out, the benefits of business growth and job creation will have a positive effect in other vital areas, including the battle against gangs and crime. “The most effective way to eliminate gang activity and reduce crime over the long term is to improve employment and educational opportunities in Fresno,” Swearengin said. “Fresno has been a city with potential for a very long time. Now it’s time to become a city with results.”

The full version of Swearengin’s Economic Development Strategy can be found at www.ashley4mayor.com/EconDev.pdf

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