Luring corporate HQs here: Are our officials up to the task?

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Fayette County has a monumental opportunity to attract new corporate headquarters and usher in 2024 with more high-paying jobs. There has never been a better chance to find corporate headquarters willing to relocate to our area.

Do we have the right people in elected office to lead the charge? Is the county’s development authority up to the task?

Be the “non-ESG” place for business

Many of the left-leaning blue states are running their corporations out and the opportunities have never been better for states like Georgia.

The leftist philosophy on “environmental, social, and governance” (ESG) platforms has blue states forcing corporations to acquiesce to political agendas not favorable to shareholder value. CEOs are watching as governments pull political levers that could restrict access to capital, talent, and business opportunities if corporations fail to tow the ESG line.

Many corporations have already left blue states, particularly in California and Illinois, and others on the East Coast are looking for an escape plan. The ridiculous climate annihilation narratives, race-based lunacy, and forced “stakeholder” (not shareholder) mandates are crippling American businesses.

Thankfully, American businesses want to stay in business even if that means finding greener pastures. How about Fayette County starting to look like a greener pasture as soon as possible?

Delaware, for example, has always been a haven for influential corporations. Things are changing, and rapidly. The state is aggressively pursuing the implementation of more assertive pro-ESG corporate laws. Not following Delaware’s mandates could cause legal action against corporate executives and board members. Following the ESG laws would harm corporate shareholders.

Corporations like Disney have learned that going along with ESG mandates can not only damage their earnings but also strengthen their competitors.

How to proceed

The Georgia legislature has helped pave the way for luring the corporations fleeing the blue states. Designated business courts were created to capitalize on having an efficient judicial alternative that recognizes legitimate shareholder value.

Local governments must identify potential corporate campus sites and secure them away from future residential development.

Unfortunately, Peachtree City has squandered most of its potential sites by caving into the residential developers. There are two more sites due to be annexed or rezoned for residential development led by Mayor Kim Learnard and lame-duck Councilmen Mike King and Phil Prebor.

Peachtree City gets a failing grade on planning for the future. Hopefully, the new majority on the city council can alter the current course.

Fayetteville is in a better position on available land, but its city council is the most likely to support ESG-type schemes. They will have to do some soul-searching.

The Fayette County Development Authority needs to consult with the local municipalities to create a site inventory specifically targeting corporate campuses. The authority will then need to convince the state economic development staff and the utilities that we have sites that are development-ready and local governments willing to assist.

Initiative + effort = public good

The same success that Texas has had luring corporate headquarters away from California could also come our way by luring corporations away from blue states in the Midwest and Northeast.

From a taxation and cost of living perspective, Georgia has a distinct advantage.

Once potential sites are identified, the local governments need to create benchmarks for offering incentives based on the total corporate investment for a headquarters campus and the number of jobs. Giving a turnkey solution to the state is advantageous to the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

The state already knows that Fayette County has the appropriate quality of life attributes to land a corporate headquarters relocation. Garnering testimonials from executives at our current corporate locations would also be beneficial.

Opportunities exist. Do we have local governments willing to make the effort?

Encourage our local elected officials to be more productive and concentrate on attracting more corporate revenue and high-paying jobs instead of building more city service-sucking residential projects.

If you do not know what ESG is, please know you are way behind. Here is an excellent reference to get you up to speed, https://adflegal.org/article/what-are-esg-policies-and-why-are-they-harmful.

Runoff Election Day

Tomorrow, Tuesday, December 5 is runoff election day at your local precinct. Do your duty, go vote.

[Brown is a former mayor of Peachtree City and served two terms on the Fayette County Board of Commissioners. You can read all his columns by clicking on his photo below.]

11 COMMENTS

  1. Steve’s main point is valid. We should market our area to businesses that need to get out from over-regulation and high taxes to a more business-friendly state and locality.

    The ESG movement being pushed onto corporations is remarkably similar to the globalist / socialist / culture warrior agenda. Disney, Target, Bud Light and many others have lost their way down this rabbit hole.

  2. Quoting ADF on ESG, civil, or human rights issues is the same as citing the Klan on issues of race relations; sure they have an opinion and they too quote statistics. Hope you actually have happier holidays than this cruel, oppressive world is affording you buddy.