Chamber president heads for Texas and room to roam
SIXTH STREET — Kathryn Dodson, president of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce for the past five years, will step down at the end of October to become the economic development director for the city of El Paso, Texas.
While the decision to depart the chamber was difficult, the 41-year-old Dodson said she couldn’t pass on the opportunity to work in civil service and shape future development on a grander scale.
The chamber, meanwhile, is expected to name Dodson’s successor as president before she departs for the Lone Star State.
El Paso and Cuidad Juarez, Mexico, located just across the Rio Grande, have a combined population of about 2.3 million, making it one of the largest international metroplexes in the world. Both cites are experiencing rapid economic growth and have plans to dramatically redevelop their respective downtowns.
“It is really an exciting time for El Paso right now, but one that also presents many challenges,” said Dodson, who as economic development director will oversee a budget of nearly $2 million. “I’m looking forward to those challenges, which will require a lot of guidance and a tremendous amount of effort to carry it through, but I think we can do it.”
The cost of housing in Santa Monica was also a factor for Dodson and her husband following the birth of their son 15 months ago. The Redondo Beach resident said she spends roughly two hours commuting back and forth to work, which puts a strain on her family life.
“I can’t afford a place with a backyard in Santa Monica … and that’s not fair for my child,” said Dodson, who said she has grown to love Santa Monica’s climate, the culture and the international flavor of the city, not to mention long bike rides along the ocean. “While I will certainly be giving up something in terms of my quality of life, I will gain it back in the quality of my family life. I’m looking forward to that.”
Nat Trives, a member of the chamber’s board of directors and a former Santa Monica mayor, said Dodson’s departure is a significant loss for the business community and the city as a whole, however, he too understands the value of a backyard.
“I take Kathy’s leaving with mixed emotions,” Trives said. “I’m a family man and I understand the problem young families have getting property in a place like Santa Monica. Her beautiful baby, I know him and have had him in my arms. He needs a yard, he needs a place to grow up like we all dream of, and that opportunity exists in El Paso.”
Trives said he never expects someone with Dodson’s qualifications to remain in Santa Monica forever, which is a good thing.
“I think when we develop good people in government and in business, naturally others will want to seek that person out,” Trives said.“Kathy is no exception. She has brought the chamber to a level it hasn’t been in a number of years … There have been many positive things and they came under her watch.”
IN GOOD COMPANY Dodson is credited with reinvigorating a chamber that had become stagnant, increasing the number of members from 846 to more than 1,000 since taking over in 2001.
Under her watch, the chamber has become more active in the community and in politics, hosting job fair and promotional events that celebrate the culture and richness of Santa Monica’s business community, as well as organizing a campaign to defeat a controversial living wage law that would have forced most businesses in the coastal zone to pay an hourly wage of $10.50.
Dodson has also been praised for her leadership on homelessness and improving ties with City Hall, a relationship that had previously been described as adversarial.
“I think Kathy has been a really important part of the chamber for the last several years,” said Councilman Richard Bloom. “Particularly within the last year, the relationship between the council and the chamber has been a bit complicated, to say the least, and I’ve really seen a noticeable thaw over the last year.”
Not only has that changed, so has the attitude residents have towards the business community, Dodson said.
“When I first arrived,I was struck by the level of involvement people have in his community,” she said. “Everywhere else, you have to battle apathy,and that does not exist here.People care so much. It’s really a tremendous community to work in.
“That said, I was also struck by the animosity towards the business community,” Dodson added. “Businesses provide 75 percent of the general fund revenue and subsidize the wonderful quality of life here, and I don’t think there is anyone in Santa Monica who wants to see this beautiful area turn into downtown or Playa Vista … but we do need to make sure we have a healthy economy,and I think that wasn’t represented when I came here.”
TREADING ON NEW GROUND The chamber’s political presence was also dormant. Then came the living wage battle and a hotly contested City Council race, both of which the chamber played a critical role, funding campaigns and endorsing candidates.
“In the last two or three years, the chamber has become a far more partisan political,” said Councilman Ken Genser, who supported the living wage law the chamber helped defeat in 2002. “Non profits and advocacy organizations have a right to support something in their interest … but when they get into endorsing candidates … we need to rethink our relationship with the chamber. I have very big concerns over the city’s relationship with any group that regularly takes partisan political positions.”
In an effort to put politics aside, the chamber has dissolved its political action committee in favor of hiring a City Hall liaison to work more closely with local government so that business are represented during the decision-making process. The chamber is close to hiring that person, Dodson said.
That doesn’t mean the chamber will not endorse candidates. So far, the board of directors has endorsed candidates for City Council, school board and the Santa Monica College board of trustees.
“I think it’s all about providing more value for our members,” Dodson said.“We are a much stronger advocacy organization than we were. We have also done a lot for the community. We have gotten very involved in the gang violence issue through our job fairs and our mentoring program, which has been phenomenally successful … I think we have certainly made some progress on the homeless issue, which is the number one concern of businesses, residents and visitors.
“We hope to make some strides in creating more workforce housing and that is something we will be working on and trying to find solutions in the next few years,” Dodson said.
One accomplishment that stands out for Dodson is the help provided to families of the victims of the deadly Farmers’ Market crash in July of 2003. George Russell Weller, then 86, drove his car through a crowded market on Arizona Avenue, killing 10 and injuring dozens more. He is currently on trial for 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter.
“We were able to raise $183,000 for the victims … and distributed it all by the end of the year,” Dodson said.“It was really immediate, which was really great because a lot of them are still waiting for resolution of a trial. We were able to secure hotel rooms, taxis, different things to try and help them get through the crisis … It showed me how tremendous the community is.”
TEXAS IS A STATE OF MIND Dodson’s move to El Paso will be a homecoming, of sorts. Prior to working in Santa Monica,Dodson served as an economic development advisor for a private real estate firm in El Paso.
Dodson was born in Dallas, Texas, and received her bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University.
She holds a doctorate degree in business from Clemson University and has performed extensive research on the impact of tourism development, studying in Belize for seven months while working on her master’s degree from the American Graduate School of International Management/Thunderbird. Dodson also worked in Cuidad Juarez, where she honed her Spanish speaking skills.
“I speak Spanish very well, and yes, I will be using it a lot,” Dodson said.
El Paso City Manager Joyce Wilson picked Dodson out of a pool of candidates from across the nation. It was Dodson’s familiarity with the region that helped elevate her name to the top of the list.
“She had a far more in depth and intimate knowledge of the area as well as sensitivity to some of the aspects of the environment we live in, El Paso being a border city with binational activities,” Wilson said. “You really can’t beat her academic credentials, plus the work she has done in Santa Monica in terms of her leadership, being able to work in a fairly difficult, political environment and being able to build collaboratives around general economic issues and key policies is something we can really use here.”
As economic development director, Dodson will earn a salary of $120,000, Wilson said.
BACK ON THE RIO GRANDE El Paso is home to a significant Latino population and relies heavily on labor from across the border. The local economy is closely dependent on the Mexican economy and the regulation of cross border traffic, particularly following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
Competition with low wage labor abroad has hurt El Paso and the region, however, a recent resurgence in manufacturing has the city buzzing, in addition to an expansion of Fort Bliss, a major U.S. Army installation near the White Sands Missile range. With the pending redevelopment of downtown, Dodson is predicting great things for El Paso.
“The economy is really based on manufacturing, and while they lost a lot in the last 10 years, we are seeing it come back,” Dodson said.
The median income for a household in El Paso was $32,124, and the median income for a family was $35,432, according to the 2000 census. The per capita income for the city was $14,388. About 19 percent of families and 22 percent of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.8 percent of those under age 18, and 17.7 percent of those age 65 or over.
In Santa Monica, the median income for a household in the city is $50,714, and the median income for a family is $75,989. The per capita income for the city is $42,874, with 10.4 percent of the population and 5.4 percent of families living below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 9.9 percent of those under the age of 18 and 10.2 percent of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
“There are a lot of differences between Santa Monica and El Paso,” Dodson said. “El Paso is a very poor community, whereas Santa Monica is a very wealthy community. El Paso’s major concern is job creation.”
As economic development director, Dodson will be making her first stint as a civil servant, something which in itself may prove to be the biggest challenge she will face.
“We’ve accomplished a great deal as a chamber over the past five years,” Dodson said.“We’ve been able to implement new ideas quickly and I’m just hoping that I will have the same latitude (in El Paso.).”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 3, 2006. Read the original PDF.