Coalition created to empower businesses
DOWNTOWN, L.A. The Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce is hoping to have its voice heard in Sacramento, joining more than 44 business organizations across Los Angeles County in the formation of a lobbying group.
Business leaders announced on Tuesday the creation of the Los Angeles County Business Federation (BizFed), kicking off a new coalition that represents the interest of more than 70,000 businesses and the 1.2 million people that they employ.
The chamber, which represents close to 1,000 businesses in Santa Monica, is one of the founding members and will have a hand in setting the advocacy agenda for the coalition. The director of government affairs for the chamber, Samantha O’Neil, will serve on the coalition’s board of directors.
“The coalition is bringing all the voices together,” O’Neil said.“The more people, the stronger the voice, the easier it is going to get heard.”
The issues near and dear to the business community here cut across jurisdictional lines, matters such as congestion and parking, public transportation and workforce housing, O’Neil added.
Currently, the various business organizations and chambers individually have their own lobbyists. In Santa Monica, the chamber has been a supporter of causes like the Exposition Light Rail and Subway to the Sea and issues related to sustainability.
The new coalition brings together all of those different voices into one loud shout.
“We are bringing all these diverse businesses together to talk about the same issues and to advocate for jobs, growth and creating a better community in Los Angeles,” O’Neil said.“We know that improving communities (has) improved the business environment as well.”
To join, organizations have to pay anywhere from $100 to $500,depending on their revenue,according to BizFed’s Web site.
The new organization is meant to give more lobbying power to the larger business community in the county, both emulating and countering other advocacy groups, including one of the most powerful in Los Angeles — unions.
While the group is a response to how organized some of the other groups are, it isn’t just about labor unions, O’Neil said.
“We look at that model and say it’s working for them why not try it for us as well,” she said. “Los Angeles County is so diverse just in space and types of different businesses and types of problems and solutions out there, it’s good to get them in one room and advocate for them.”
Maria Elena Durazo, the executive secretary-treasurer for the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, congratulated the business community on Tuesday, but said she was disappointed to learn that the coalition is a “counterweight to what labor is doing now.”
“What we should be talking about is how we work together to create good jobs for the community, not about how we run counter operations,” Durazo said in a statement on Tuesday.
Aside from the chambers, the coalition is represented by organizations such as the Apartment Association of Greater L.A., the New Car Dealers Association of L.A. and the L.A. chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, which includes members in Santa Monica.
There are about 335,000 businesses in the county where at least 50 percent of the enterprise is owned by a woman, according to Helen Han, the president of the local chapter. Women entrepreneurs represent the fastest growing segment of the economy, she added. “(BizFed) gives small business and women-owned business... a level playing field for participating in the political process and engagement in putting forward ideas and perspectives on how we can contribute to the overall quality of life for Los Angeles as a whole.”
The coalition also launched a Web site on Tuesday that allows BizFed members to directly communicate their concerns on policies with their local legislative representative.
“We believe that a strong business community, which creates jobs and keeps our economy growing, benefits everyone,” BizFed Chairman David Fleming said. “Our priority will be to support and advocate for strong economic policies which incentivize Los Angeles businesses to stay here, expand here and to attract new companies to bring their jobs to our backyard.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 30, 2008. Read the original PDF.