Advertisement

Consortium Chief Calls S.D.’s Pitch Unbalanced

Share
Times Staff Writer

Although he argued that “too much, frankly, has been made” of San Diego’s recent failure to attract a pair of high-technology consortiums, retired Adm. Bobby Inman on Monday acknowledged that the city leaned too heavily on the region’s “access to the ocean and its cultural opportunities” in its sales efforts.

“Much was made of the wonderful opportunities for your time outside of work,” Inman said. “Interestingly . . . that wasn’t seen as a strong plus” by members of the consortium.

“Bring a little balance when you’re making that pitch” in the future, Inman advised.

That “pitch” was not strong enough to overcome the problems of high housing prices and a state education system that is still recovering from years of insufficient financing, said Inman, president and chief executive of Microelectronics and Computer Technology, the much-wooed consortium that eventually settled in Austin, Tex. He was in San Diego for a conference for people in high-tech industries.

Advertisement

California must somehow “supplement (high) housing costs” to attract new industry to the state, Inman said. He suggested that the state offer tax incentives to builders of lower-cost housing.

He cautioned against the use of sewer hook-up moratoriums and other legislated solutions that aim at controlling housing costs. “That leads the developer who is paying interest rates on the land to build the most expensive things they can build,” Inman said.

San Diego might benefit from skyrocketing home costs elsewhere, Inman said. In Austin, for example, housing costs have jumped 25% over the last three years, eliminating the comparatively inexpensive housing that the city once enjoyed.

If California’s housing prices “have stayed the same for the past three years, that mean’s San Diego’s competitive advantage has improved,” he said.

Although he applauded California’s decision to boost financing for the state education system, Inman said it would take five to seven years before that cash infusion brings a tangible return.

The former director of the National Security Agency and the CIA gave high marks to the state overall, however.

Advertisement

“I see California as continuing to be the No. 1 area in these emerging technology areas, for as far as I can see,” Inman said. While the state’s growth rate may drop, Inman suggested that “You can live with a substantially reduced rate of growth and still be very prosperous.

“Your worry is if you reach a state of stagnation.”

Advertisement