Gwaltney’s work must continue

By E. LINWOOD WRIGHT
Published: June 1, 2008

The pending retirement of Jerry Gwaltney as Danville’s city manager has prompted the board of directors of the Future of the Piedmont Foundation to issue these remarks celebrating his tenure in office and, further, to cite our deep concerns about continuing the positive direction of our community in the future.

Gwaltney’s departure comes at a time when our region is beginning to reap the results of his vision and his committed dedication to redirecting our economic future. These past eight years have been filled with challenges as we have witnessed the demise of our two largest corporate citizens, Dan River Inc. and Dimon. It would have been easy to forecast that, at this moment in our history, we would be a seriously depressed city with little hope for a bright future. The Future of the Piedmont Foundation will be eternally grateful to Jerry that he did not let that forecast become reality.

Almost exactly at the same time that Gwaltney became manager of the city of Danville, a group of private-sector citizens joined forces to encourage and assist the community to reinvent itself to accommodate an economy that would become more and more global in dimension and more and more driven by technology.

From the outset, the Future of the Piedmont Foundation and Jerry Gwaltney recognized how critically important it would be to have strong public-private cooperation as we attempted to forge this rebirth of our economic base and develop a strategy to overcome the paralysis that was resulting from Virginia’s unique system of local government. Independent cities and surrounding counties, separated by law, were rapidly becoming adversarial in their relationships with each other, and meaningful regional cooperation simply did not exist.

With no intent to overlook the many contributions of other people, the foundation used Gwaltney and Gwaltney used the foundation to encourage a commitment to city-county cooperation that has been recognized by the two most recent governors of Virginia as the model for the entire state.

From the city’s perspective, it was Gwaltney who led the effort. He certainly found a receptive audience in Pittsylvania County. Gwaltney and Dan Sleeper, the county administrator, have become a team that has shown localities just how valuable regional cooperation can be in reshaping an economy.

A tangible result of this cooperation has been the establishment of the Regional Industrial Facilities Authority, which owns the Cyber Park, where the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research is located, and Cane Creek Industrial Park, where both Swedwood and Yorktowne Cabinetry are now employing our citizens and are shipping product made locally. The fact that one park is located in the city of Danville and the other is located in Pittsylvania County is forgotten when we talk about the value that these facilities will continue to yield to both the county and the city. Even more valuable is the message that we have sent to Richmond that has resulted in tremendous support for our efforts from both the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the Virginia Tobacco Commission.

Gwaltney has, without question, been a visionary. He has successfully merged the desire of City Council with a widespread public commitment for an aggressive economic development program into an action plan that has brought thousands of jobs to our region. He has countered the movement of Danville’s manufacturing base to foreign lands by bringing foreign companies to Danville. As badly as we were hurt by globalization, we have been rejuvenated by globalization in reverse. Our manufacturing base now includes companies whose headquarters are in India, Poland and Sweden. We have a vibrant call center that is headquartered in Mexico. We are rapidly becoming a hub for retailers. The city’s financial position is healthy, and in spite of the loss of both Dan River and Dimon, our bond rating was not reduced. There is even some speculation that it may be raised in the near future.

The contributions that our region has made to the building and establishment of the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research have been critical to its becoming a catalyst for economic growth and vitality. It was Jerry Gwaltney who led the charge to bring the support of both the city and the county to bear on getting the facility that houses the IALR built. It has continued to be Gwaltney who has provided wise counsel when the Institute has had growing pains. Both the management and the trustees have been able to lean on him for help whenever it was needed, and when questions have arisen concerning the wisdom of this great experiment, it has been Gwaltney who has steadfastly maintained his support for the Institute and its mission. The Future of the Piedmont Foundation extends more words of gratitude to Jerry for this support of the Foundation’s most visible effort.

At the same time that Gwaltney has led our city to new heights, his wife has been tireless in her efforts to beautify Danville. Although he may sometimes get credit for the beautification of the roadways and interchanges throughout the city, it is his wife, Gayle, who has provided the impetus for this wonderful improvement to our physical appearance. This change in how we look has been a major factor in making us attractive to both organizations and individuals that we have sought to recruit to Danville. Those of us who live here can enjoy the improvements on a daily basis. We are also enjoying the benefits of those newcomers who have been enticed to move here because of the fact that Gayle’s vision has said loudly and clearly that we take pride in where we live and where we work.

There is a well-established procedure to provide for the transition of a city manager. What is not so well established is a procedure to judge the qualifications and find a person who reflects the values that City Council has determined are most important in the new manager. The Future of the Piedmont Foundation is committed to the concept that city-county cooperation must continue. The foundation is also unwavering in its belief that the future prosperity of our region is dependent on all of our citizens recognizing the value of and pursuing the education and training necessary to function in the 21st century, technology-driven economy. The City Council that will be sworn in on July 1 will face the most serious responsibility that any council can ever face. All else pales in significance when compared to the responsibility of hiring a CEO for the city of Danville. The nine members of this body who will embark on this daunting task will need the support and wise counsel of all of us. What they do not need is frivolous interference in their job. The Future of the Piedmont Foundation pledges whatever support it can offer to City Council, and it urges the council to seek and use expert, professional help in the recruitment of the new manager. This is not a time to be penny wise and pound foolish. Council must not take the easy way out. It must search for and hire the best possible successor, not just an acceptable candidate.

• Wright is chairman of the Future of the Piedmont Foundation. This column was written on behalf of the Future of the Piedmont Foundation.