Tuesday, November 22, 2011

California’s Lt. Gov. Talks Jobs at Port of San Diego

Maritime jobs represent a “growth area” for California, the state’s lieutenant governor, Gavin Newsom, told an assemblage during a Nov. 18 meeting at the Port of San Diego.

During the conference with about a dozen executives, including Board of Port Commissioners Chair Scott Peters and Port District President Wayne Darbeau, Newsom said that ports in the US, particularly those on the West Coast, deserve infrastructure funding to improve both import and export business and thus produce good-paying jobs.

He also said China’s heavy investment in its maritime business sector is something that it learned from the US, and that it’s an approach that America needs to get back to.

“We’re envious of China because that used to be us,” he remarked. “They've figured out our secret sauce.”

Newsom was in town to address a San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce luncheon. His topic was jobs and economic growth in California.