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Reps seek partnership between two regions, new economic model
By Paula Schleis Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Tuesday, Oct 02, 2007
Cleveland and Pittsburgh are used to seeing each other as rivals, but two young congressmen are leading an effort to bridge the legendary divide.
Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles, and Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Aliquippa, Pa. whose districts meet at the state line have proposed an economic partnership between the regions, which are both struggling as their traditional industrial bases fade.
In a special daylong work session at Youngstown State University Monday, some 100 hand-picked business, education and philanthropic leaders were brought together by Ryan and Altmire to discuss the formation of a ''Tech Belt'' from Northeast Ohio to Western Pennsylvania.
The goal is to create jobs, attract businesses and lure venture capital by playing on the size and strength of the ''mega-region.''
''To me, this is about all the players in this great corridor figuring out how to unleash the potential of this region,'' Ryan said. ''Can we all survive alone? Sure. We can survive. Can we reach our full potential alone? No. We can't.''
Borrowing from a John F. Kennedy speech, Ryan challenged forum participants to stop looking at the world as it existed in the past 30 years, and start considering how it's going to take shape in the next 30 years.
''Our region, this wonderful community that stretches from Lake Erie to the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, has all too often looked to the past as a time of prosperity and a time when we were defined by steel and coal,'' Ryan told the gathering.
Monday's forum, he said, was the first step toward thinking of Cleveland and Pittsburgh as a single ''economic unit, able to compete with Shanghai and Mumbai,'' he said, referring the modern industrial rise of China and India.
Ryan reminded those present that the region was ''the very center of American innovation and industrialization in the 20th century.''
That foundation remains, he said, but it needs to be transformed into a ''more enduring economic model that will prosper in the global marketplace.'' He was referring particularly to the fields of robotics, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, advanced energy, telecommunications and information technology.
Altmire said he and Ryan became friends last year and during a conversation comparing the attributes of their respective areas, ''we decided it would be better if we were to compete together against the rest of the country and the rest of the world rather than competing against each other.''
But for regional collaboration to be successful, the private sector must embrace it and model it, Ryan said.
''We have the educational tools, the amenities, the work ethic and the drive,'' Ryan said. ''Now we need the leadership. The leadership is the lubricant to our success.''
In addition to hearing from Ryan and Altmire, participants heard John Austin of the Brookings Institute talk about state and federal efforts to renew the Great Lakes region.
The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent in small group discussions on such topics as talent attraction, research and development, financial investments, media and marketing, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Ryan and Altmire pleaded with the group to take its charge seriously, and not to let the discussion die from lack of action. Pittsburgh will host a second meeting of the group in the near future.
''Knowing we can achieve more for our kids and for our community, and should we choose to stay in our comfort zone, it would be a complete dereliction of our duty to those people who count on us to lead them,'' Ryan said.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.
Cleveland and Pittsburgh are used to seeing each other as rivals, but two young congressmen are leading an effort to bridge the legendary divide.
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