Larry Cope settles in as new EDC head
Gilroy – The two latest editions of “Wired” magazine lie on a coffee table in the corner of Larry F. Cope’s new Monterey Street office. On the wall above hang two awards from the California Association for Local Economic Development.
The most recent was awarded in March to the Gilroy Economic Development Corporation, which Cope took over as director on July 11. The nonprofit agency earned the honor for a unique economic development partnership that helped create the Pacheco Pass and Gilroy Crossing shopping centers, vital components of the city’s economic engine.
Cope is now taking the reins from the man largely responsible for orchestrating the efforts that led to the award and the city’s financial success during tough economic times – Bill Lindsteadt, who died at the beginning of the year.
Cope, 36, describes himself as a “new school ED,” or economic development director, cut from the same cloth as his predecessor.
“As we all kid in economic development, there’s old school and new school,” Cope said. “Old brought in gigantic industrial plants in the ’70s. The newer crop were those that did economic development in the ’80s and ’90s. Bill very much was the new school. He embraced biotech and new technology. I consider myself new school.”
Even among the “new school,” Cope seems to be on the cutting edge. In his first week, for instance, he is already implementing tailor-made business proposals to a series of inquiries from industrial manufacturers. He of course would not release the names.
Instead of sending out a single packet that reads the same regardless of inquiry, Cope combines the city’s standard information on schools, home prices, population and other demographics, with real estate proposals form-fitted to a company’s needs. All of the material is pulled together electronically and is sent out via e-mail in order to provide the most up-to-date information on available property received from local real estate brokers.
Cope, originally from Southern California, used similar approaches in his previous position as economic development director for Jefferson City and Geary County in Kansas. A large part of his work there revolved around Fort Riley Army Base, the area’s largest employer. Although Gilroy’s economic base is smaller from a geographic perspective, Cope said the pace remains the same.
“I’m happiest when I’m running at full tilt,” he said. “From what I’ve seen in one week, there are a lot of (economic) partnerships.”
He has spent the last week making rounds at every local and regional agency, shaking hands and drumming up prospective clients at various meetings. His schedule this week included meetings of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, City Council, Central Coast Marketing Team, and Silicon Valley Economic Development Association.
Cope said “60 to 70 percent of it is meet and greet, but we’ve got some (economic developments) prospects too. We’ve been pursuing an aggressive strategy.”
Finding the right business means looking at every niche of a particular market, according to Cope.
“Some of your best growth could be in basic manufacturing,” he said, contrary to conventional wisdom that seems to suggest that many of those jobs now get exported overseas. “Basic manufacturing has jobs that are suited to the U.S. Jobs that pay well.”
In particular, he pointed to growing overseas companies looking for U.S. operational headquarters. In his last position, for instance, Cope steered an Irish plastics company to Kansas by addressing its need for a U.S. distribution center.
As the city’s newest economic development director, Cope inherits the formidable task of luring high-end jobs to a city that must compete with rock-bottom commercial prices closer to the heart of Silicon Valley. While acknowledging the challenges posed by the economy, Cope has plenty of sources for prospective clients.
The collection of “Wired” magazines growing in the corner of his office, for instance, does more than help Cope stay plugged into the latest technologies.
“I use it as a recruitment tool. You’ll see a lot of young companies appear in that,” Copes said, referring to the humble beginnings in a garage of Microsoft and Apple Computer. “That’s when you contact them – before they get the big contract with IBM. Those are the kind of apples you want.”
