Mayor Brown Appoints Economic Development Officer

[thelakelander]

MAYOR APPOINTS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICER



Position is critical component of mayor’s vision for jobs and opportunity

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Friday, Nov. 16, 2012 â€" Mayor Alvin Brown has chosen Theodore N. Carter, an executive with more than 20 years of public and private sector experience, to head the new Office of Economic Development.

As the Economic Development Officer, he will manage the city’s day-to-day economic development functions with an aim to attract good-paying jobs and quality business opportunities to make Jacksonville more competitive. His appointment is a critical component of the mayor’s vision to transition away from the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission and create an Office of Economic Development with executive management capacity.

Prior to his appointment, Carter was an executive managing director for CB Richard Ellis in Washington, D.C. He also has extensive experience in finance and public-private partnerships working with agencies such as the U.S. Department of the Treasury and city governments in New York, Newark and Washington, D.C.

City Council backed the mayor with a unanimous vote to create the Office of Economic Development. The mayor’s plans also gained state-level approval from both Houses of the Florida Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott. The bill â€" CS/HB 1253 â€" granted the mayor the authority to move forward.

Carter’s appointment is subject to a City Council nomination. His salary will be $195,000.

[thelakelander]

I assume Ted Carter will be replacing Paul Crawford?

Theodore N. Carter

Executive Managing Director

PROFESSIONAL EXPEREINCE

In January 2008, Ted Carter assumed leadership of CBRE’s strategy to deliver real estate solutions to government and public sector clients in the U.S. In this role, he leads sales, marketing and business development for the Public Institutions and Education Solutions Group, based in Washington, DC. From 2005-2007, he served as CBRE’s South Florida market leader, where he was responsible for all lines of business for five offices and successfully expanded the company's marketplace penetration, branding and civic leadership, including the acquisition of Blackrock Property Advisors, a boutique retail investment sales firm. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Beacon Council.

Prior to joining CBRE, Mr. Carter served as President and CEO of the quasi-public National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC) in Washington, DC, which oversaw the award and  development, of more than $1 billion of development projects, including: the master planning and management for the 50 acre SW Waterfront and Marina; DC USA, home to the first Target in the District of Columbia; renovation and expansion of the historic Tivoli Theater( Washington Business Journal 2004 Real Estate Deal of the Year); The National Urban League's Washington, DC headquarters; and seven other signature projects. NCRC received the District of Columbia Building Industry Association’s 2004 Achievement Award for these projects.

Mr. Carter has held senior positions in municipal operations and finance, legislative affairs and real estate and economic development in mayoral administrations in New York City, Newark, NJ and Washington, DC. From 1997-2000, Mr. Carter was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management Operations at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he had responsibility for real estate and capital assets, procurement, supplier diversity, business innovation and security/critical infrastructure among other responsibilities, as well as management oversight for the law enforcement bureaus. He led the Department’s efforts to secure site selection and funding for the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms 200,000 square foot headquarters.  He was the recipient of the Department's Exceptional Service Award.

Mr. Carter held the position of Deputy Campaign Manager and Chief Operating Officer in 1996 for President Bill Clinton's national reelection campaign.

http://www.cbre.us/o/washingtondc/people/ted-carter/Pages/overview.aspx

[Sigsbee LeGrande]

Once again, our illustrious mayor was unable to find anyone in Jacksonville who is qualified to do a City job for $195K/year and who needs a job.

[thelakelander]

I'm okay with finding talent outside of Jacksonville if the candidate is the right person for the job at hand.  The quickest way to kill yourself economically is to put someone into a position that's over their head, simply because they need a job.

[cityimrov]

I'm okay with finding talent outside of Jacksonville if the candidate is the right person for the job at hand.  The quickest way to kill yourself economically is to put someone into a position that's over their head, simply because they need a job.

But I meet a lot of people in the city which disagree with this position and consider people from Jacksonville to be just as qualified if not better than any nationally recognized person.  How would you argue with them? 

Any help on this would be appreciated because I've been finding too many of them lately. 

[thelakelander]

I can see that argument if we're talking about filling a call center or warehousing facility. However, when it comes to specialized positions, it doesn't stack up.  However, if you're Shands and you need a good heart specialist, its probably not the best idea to not consider any candidate who may not currently live in Jacksonville.

For me, I'd suggest a look around at major issues concerning our community will provide you with all the talking points you'll need.  Mass transit, downtown, historic preservation, maintaining parks, keeping our libraries open, giving our kids a quality public education, pedestrian/bicycle death and accident rates.  Ask them who do they know is qualified in Jacksonville to implement a quality mass transit system or compete for federal funds to improve the port? 

Which one of their neighbors has experience implementing a light rail system or bus rapid transit?  Which one of their neighbors has experience turning a school district around or stimulating growth in distressed communities? We obviously have and continue to struggle to get these things right.  Why not try and get the best talent to overcome economic situations we continue to struggle with?

[PeeJayEss]

But I meet a lot of people in the city which disagree with this position and consider people from Jacksonville to be just as qualified if not better than any nationally recognized person.  How would you argue with them? 

Any help on this would be appreciated because I've been finding too many of them lately.

So people in Jacksonville think people in Jacksonville are great at things? That sounds totally unbiased. While I have no doubt there are qualified people in Jax that could have managed the job, the odds are that there is someone better outside of Jax, if only for the fact that there are more people outside of Jax than in. Worry not, however. No matter where the city gets its leaders from, it is city policy to make sure they will not perform.

[Cheshire Cat]

This however is Cronyism as opposed to looking for the best candidate for a position.   Another buddy of Alvin's gets a job.  Does anyone remember a large scale search for a person to fill this position?  Didn't think so. 



Diane Melendez

[CityLife]

Once again, our illustrious mayor was unable to find anyone in Jacksonville who is qualified to do a City job for $195K/year and who needs a job.

Know anyone with credentials anywhere remotely close to Ted Carter that is just sitting around waiting for a job in Jacksonville? It would be far worse to just settle for someone because they live in Jacksonville. This isn't just some city job. Its a highly specialized job that requires a dynamic person with a broad work history and varied skill set. I think it is even more vital that this particular position be hired from outside of Jacksonville. The person needs to understand economic development from a national perspective, not a Jacksonville perspective, and also have connections all over the country.

I hope we also hire an outsider from the big leagues for director of DIA. The important thing for this position, DIA director, and JTA director is surrounding those outsiders with staffers that are heavily versed in the local game.

[Cheshire Cat]

Get the talent out of state if necessary but do it using a proper "nationwide" search.  Just who were all the others considered for  this job and rejected?  List anyone?  How far and wide were applicants sought and for how long did this "search" go on?


Diane M.

[Tacachale]

^Agreed. This is another case of the regulars aiming their skepticism in the wrong direction. Lake and co, instead of being skeptical about folks who *weren't* picked, why don't you start discussing the ostensible qualifications of this guy who *was* picked?

[CityLife]

I do agree that the Mayor has some issues with his appointments and have been critical on here before...but this position is a little different. IF there was someone in Jacksonville that was qualified and capable of doing this position they would be a well known person in town. I can't think of anyone. Can you? If you can't, there is nothing to complain about. There is also no guarantee that a qualified person in town would even accept the job. $195k may sound like a lot, but its probably a pay cut for some people at this level of the business world. Or perhaps they just felt lucky to even get Carter.

Tacachale, what is there to discuss? The guy's bio speaks for itself. CBRE is a huge national commercial real estate company and he is in charge of their public sector group. He was President and CEO of NCRC which is another big position dealing with economic development and redevelopment. Prior to that he had a big job with the US Treasury. He's worked in the private sector, public sector, and with non-profits all at very high levels.

Honestly, in looking at his bio, I wonder if he has a sick mother at the Mayo Clinic or something.

Is there something you think is lacking from his bio or do you think there are better in town candidates?

[thelakelander]

^Agreed. This is another case of the regulars aiming their skepticism in the wrong direction. Lake and co, instead of being skeptical about folks who *weren't* picked, why don't you start discussing the ostensible qualifications of this guy who *was* picked?

I'm not skeptical.  I think this is a case of reading too much into my posts and coming up with your own viewpoint of my position. I'm not defending or criticizing the Mayor's selection of Mr. Carter. I'm just saying I don't believe you should be forced to hire local people for every job.  To me, it should be skill based and if the best person comes from San Francisco and not Mandarin, so be it.

[Cheshire Cat]

I would agree the Bio looks impressive, but would be interested to know who vetted the information contained in it and what sort of record of success does this gentleman claim in the area of economic development that would reflect his capabilities here?  Has anyone checked media reports from the communities in which he held these high level jobs and why doesn't he have one now? 




Diane M.

[CityLife]

I would agree the Bio looks impressive, but would be interested to know who vetted the information contained in it and what sort of record of success does this gentleman claim in the area of economic development that would reflect his capabilities here?  Has anyone checked media reports from the communities in which he held these high level jobs and why doesn't he have one now? 
Diane M.

Those are all things that the city would do for any employee hire and I'm sure they spent a little extra time on this one. The guy wouldn't be where he is if didn't have significant success in economic development, which is basically the field he's always been in. He's currently the Executive Managing Director of CBRE's Global Corporate Services Public Institutions and Education group.

A Partial list of his current clients at CBRE:   
GSA (General Services Administration of the Federal Gov't)
US Air Force
US Postal Service
Commonwealth of Virginia
Florida Power and Light
FDIC

Education
Georgetown University, Bachelor of Science, Foreign Service
The American University, Masters in Public Administration
George Washington University, Certificate, Political Management

http://www.cbre.us/o/washingtondc/people/ted-carter/Pages/overview.aspx