VP choice brings positive exposure Janesville couldn’t buy
Romney selects Ryan
Click here to view a special section on Paul Ryan, selected to be Republican candidate Mitt Romney's running mate in the 2012 presidential campaign.
JANESVILLE — As Janesville tries to rebuild its economy, the selection of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney’s running mate will generate positive exposure that money can’t buy, local economic development officials said Saturday.
“No way, even if we were incredibly, fabulously funded,” said John Beckord, president of Forward Janesville and a member of the Rock County 5.0 economic development team. “Without a doubt, this is incredibly important for our brand, for our community and a huge opportunity to aggressively tell the story.
“Just getting into the conversation at the national and international levels is huge. From that perspective, no politician has done more for their community than what Paul did for us today.”
Janesville has not been immune to global exposure, but most of it in the last three-plus years has been negative, the result of a General Motors plant closure in 2008 and economic recession.
“We’ve certainly been in the spotlight in the past, and some could argue far too frequently,” said James Otterstein, Rock County’s economic development director.
“This will serve as a counterbalance. In the world of economic development, the relationship between perception and reality really does matter.”
In the past, reporters swooped into town looking to tell the story of a decimated community, and a documentary soon will be released that chronicles local rebuilding efforts.
Otterstein noted that Janesville and Rock County didn’t die on the vine, as many predicted after the closure of the GM plant.
The lights are still on, he said, and they’ve been burning brighter in the last 18 to 24 months with a succession of positive economic development announcements.
Janesville’s past struggles and recent successes will be scrutinized, he said.
“I think that between now and the election, both sides will revisit the topics of the past, and in our case there’s no way around it,” Otterstein said. “It’s part of our history.”
Ryan’s addition to the GOP ticket will elevate opportunities to tell the positive story of Janesville and Rock County, Otterstein and Beckord said.
On Saturday alone, Ryan’s birthplace was referred to several times as “Hometown America.”
“It’s already elevated Janesville,” said Mary Willmer, co-chairwoman of Rock County 5.0, a five-year public-private economic development initiative designed to reposition and revitalize the county’s economy.
“You turn on the TV, and every five or 10 minutes Janesville, Wisconsin, is mentioned.”
Between now and the election in November, news crews will make their way to the city for background on Ryan.
In fact, they started arriving Friday night as speculation around Romney’s pick heightened. They were all over town Saturday, including several of the television networks’ top talent.
“This brings a new level of exposure to Janesville,” City Manager Eric Levitt said. “The national media will come to find out more about Paul Ryan, and that puts us in a very unique position.
“There are very few communities that have someone running for president or vice president. It makes us much more visible, and I think there’s a pride in the community in that.”
Beckord said others are ready with talking points on the local economy and efforts to both diversify and protect it from another GM calamity.
“You don’t get gifts like this very often,” he said.
In Ryan, the nation will see the product of an exceptional school system, Willmer said.
“That’s just one of the attributes that we have that people will learn about,” she said.
Interest in Ryan and his hometown is not new.
“Whenever we talk with prospects and clients, Paul’s name routinely comes up and is a point of great admiration and credibility,” Otterstein said. “As his prominence has risen—and continues to rise—so has his stature with the folks we meet.”
Beckord said the seven-term congressman has been a key contributor to local economic development efforts, routinely making personal contacts to prospects considering Janesville and Rock County.
“A very sizable number of decision makers and investors are going to vote for him because they admire him for his acumen and skill in all things financial,” Beckord said.
Beckord said he’s always counted on Ryan as a friend of local business and economic development interests.
While the prospect of losing an ally in the 1st Congressional District troubles Beckord, he said he’d worry about how to connect with the vice president if that happens.
“At this point, that’s something I haven’t even pondered yet,” he said.
Aug 14, 2012 at 1:15 a.m.
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There will be no "exposure" for Janesville, because the R/R campaign doesn't want it. As long as there is a shuttered GM plant as a reminder of what's happened in Ryan's district, you'll never see him here again. He couldn't even hold his "homecoming" announcement here, instead holding it in Waukesha, which isn't even in his current House district.
http://wisconsinhomecoming.eventbrite.co...
Aug 13, 2012 at 1:03 p.m.
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Oblamer -- I just said something very similar that in another forum discussion. The only note I would make is that the free money train will hit the brakes at some point and after pushing more middle class families to the bottom and widening the gap to the top -- he will through us from a free market society into a solcialistic society. This guy wants to make us look like the EU. We can see how well they are doing..
Aug 13, 2012 at 12:47 p.m.
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Be careful what you wish for. I can't imagine what the nation will think when they become familiar with Janesville's bickerring and lack of leadership. They will find out we are sending council members to South America to find out how to run the city. Maybe Mr. Ryan can get the feds to put in sidewalks.
Aug 13, 2012 at 10:36 a.m.
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You may agree or disagree with Ryans plan, but at least he has one. A plan that has been thought through and has reasonable estimates for its possible impact. Where is ANY dem plan. Thats easy -- more welfare, more Investment (key word here is subsidizing), more cronies bellied up to the bar. More negative advertising... Their plan, create a $ trillion healthcare system and hope the $700+ billion in cuts to medicare and hopefully better health will solve the problem and cover it. But there is no plan for the doctors that will opt out, how to service the millions of new patients, -- oh in the Obama world you force people to treat people.... thats what I want a doctor thats forced to treat me... that'll turn out good. Cant wait for doctor to work on me thats forced to... Ryan stepped up, into the fire, with a plan, like it or not. He is innovating and providing ideas.
Aug 13, 2012 at 10:03 a.m.
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When the garbage dump catches on fire, it also gets media coverage.
Aug 13, 2012 at 9:25 a.m.
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Ryan will do for Janesville like Walker did for Delavan...pfsssst !
Aug 13, 2012 at 2:54 a.m.
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"During Ryan's tenure, he voted for two wars that were not funded, voted for the Bush tax cuts without offsetting spending cuts, and voted for Medicare Part D that was not funded. In other words, he's just like every other career politician."
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More importantly he voted for TARP. A vote which truly was one that separated the true independent thinkers from those who are simply part of the big establishment.. ALL your establishment (aka: those backed by big banking-chroney capitalists...AKA: the oligarchy)...All of them....Obama, McCain, Bush, Reed, Palosi, Ryan, and on down the line were ALL PRO TARP. A bill that truly set the future of the country. One that set the precedent for TOTAL establishment control, and UNLIMITED borrowing, and printing of money to solve EVERY fiscal problem going forward from now to certain economic collapse..It's really no surprise Ryan was selected, the powers that be make certain that each side fully endorses their agenda, so they win no matter who the people elect into office.
Aug 13, 2012 at 12:35 a.m.
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Big surprise, the same leftest claims are still being repeated, no matter how questionable the sources.
Aug 12, 2012 at 11:35 p.m.
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"In 2010 -- the only year we have seen a full return from him -- Romney would have paid an effective tax rate of around 0.82 percent under the Ryan plan, rather than the 13.9 percent he actually did. How would someone with more than $21 million in taxable income pay so little? Well, the vast majority of Romney's income came from capital gains, interest, and dividends. And Ryan wants to eliminate all taxes on capital gains, interest and dividends." [ http://www.theatlantic.com/business/arch... ]
How many multi-millionaires and billionaires can you think of in the first congressional district that Ryan's budget proposal would help in similar dollar amounts as it would help Romney? One or two? That leaves everyone else in the first congressional district to pick up the tab for the Ryan budget proposal.
Aug 12, 2012 at 9:52 p.m.
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"Beckord said the seven-term congressman has been a key contributor to local economic development efforts, routinely making personal contacts to prospects considering Janesville and Rock County."
And the results are?
"“A very sizable number of decision makers and investors are going to vote for him because they admire him for his acumen and skill in all things financial,” Beckord said."
During Ryan's tenure, he voted for two wars that were not funded, voted for the Bush tax cuts without offsetting spending cuts, and voted for Medicare Part D that was not funded. In other words, he's just like every other career politician.
Aug 12, 2012 at 8:43 p.m.
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Deny it all you want this will be good for Janesville even if Romney loses to Obama. The exposure and the news crews all will amount to a boom to the local economy.
Aug 12, 2012 at 6:33 p.m.
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Just how is Paul Ryan's selection as Romney's running mate going to help Janesville and Rock County? Paul Ryan himself hasn't done anything for the area~but he will do whatever he can to destroy Medicare and leave thousands of elderly without healthcare insurance. Paul Ryan has made it clear he fits in with the likes of Mitt Romney not the working class of Rock County. This will be the first election where I vote against Paul. He does not represent me in fact I highly doubt he represents the hundreds in Rock County that are still unemployed or underemployed. To think that his selection as Romney's running mate is going to magically cure the economic woes of the area is the biggest joke of the day next to the GM plant re-opening.
Aug 12, 2012 at 6:33 p.m.
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Just how is Paul Ryan's selection as Romney's running mate going to help Janesville and Rock County? Paul Ryan himself hasn't done anything for the area~but he will do whatever he can to destroy Medicare and leave thousands of elderly without healthcare insurance. Paul Ryan has made it clear he fits in with the likes of Mitt Romney not the working class of Rock County. This will be the first election where I vote against Paul. He does not represent me in fact I highly doubt he represents the hundreds in Rock County that are still unemployed or underemployed. To think that his selection as Romney's running mate is going to magically cure the economic woes of the area is the biggest joke of the day next to the GM plant re-opening.
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