Tesla is a win for all of Nevada

Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014 | 2 a.m.

As Nevadans rightfully grow excited over the arrival of Tesla Motors’ battery-manufacturing gigafactory outside Reno, my friend John Lee, mayor of North Las Vegas, is looking ahead.

He grasps the momentous significance of Tesla’s decision to build in Nevada, citing our “can-do” business spirit. And yes, even though the immediate benefits will be felt in Northern Nevada, that doesn’t mean all of Nevada won’t enjoy the prestige and economic shot-in-the-arm that comes with hosting Tesla. The reverberations will be statewide.

But John is looking forward to more economic growth and how it can certainly play out in Southern Nevada as well. Nevada is building momentum and seizing the moment, and as John writes, below, let’s make sure that we all are at the table, to celebrate and to make the most of this for everyone.

— Brian Greenspun

By John Lee

Decades of strategic and sustainable business-friendly policies have culminated in Nevada landing what could well become the nation’s largest manufacturing plant. I want to congratulate the outstanding leadership and hard work of Sen. Harry Reid, Gov. Brian Sandoval, Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick, and Majority Leader Mo Denis in bringing Tesla Motors to Nevada. This is a tremendous victory for our state, for Tesla and for the future!

Today is not the time for North-South debates on inequality to spoil this momentous accomplishment. I love it when my friends win! During my tenure in the state Legislature we protected our friends, neighbors and our state by carefully allocating critical resources from our robust tourism industry in the South to repair and build the rest of the state. Yes, these allocations created inequalities, but these subsidized investments in the North worked. Now let’s pass this historic legislative package and get to work following the same blueprint for the future success in Southern Nevada!

The blueprint includes our investment in a strong workforce and infrastructure in the North. Historic funding formulas in K-12 and higher education have resulted in institutions of higher education in the North getting $55 million more in biennial funding with an even wider disparities in K-12 education funding. Over the last decade we have made a large investment in infrastructure by putting $1.35 billion in state money into transportation systems in Northern Nevada compared to $475 million in road projects in Southern Nevada. These wise investments positioned Nevada to land one of the nation’s most aggressively contested fights for new business and provides a game-changing opportunity for northern counties to grow on their own and begin to control their own destiny.

In an era where government programs are attacked as ineffective and wasteful, our decades-long legislative goals of reinvigorating the North are now providing a blueprint for duplicating the same policies and goals for our communities in Southern Nevada. Investing in education and infrastructure not only restored the northern region but upgraded their projected economic outlook to substantially exceed its former peak in 2007. Following this blueprint can help our region as it lags its 2007 high and has experienced the smallest growth relative to the other 10 most populous metropolitan areas in the Mountain West.

The greater Las Vegas region is the hardest hit metro region in the nation and has yet to recover from the Great Recession. We know that passing the Tesla incentive package puts its workforce and taxpayers closer to getting the same opportunities and plan for the brighter future they deserve. It is important to remember Tesla is looking to build multiple factories. When the California Legislature decided to recess two weeks ago without passing an incentive package for Tesla, Nevada was able to quickly jump in and make a deal. Now, let’s lock this first factory up by passing an accountable performance-based incentives package for Tesla and make the case that Tesla need look no further than our state’s largest workforce in southern Nevada for Tesla gigafactory II.

The recent economic additions of Tesla, Apple and the new biofuel plant in the North demonstrate that Nevada truly is a “business-friendly” state. Adding $100 billion of economic impact to our state will open eyes like never before! Businesses contemplating relocation and startups searching for a launching pad are going to focus on Nevada. It is essential to get ready for the next wave of growth by aggressively preparing for those getting ready to jump on this exciting business bandwagon.

As the mayor of North Las Vegas, I know our region has been the epicenter of the economic crisis. I am proud to be a Nevadan and excited for our state’s future with the announcement of last week’s monumental game-changer. For the past year, the mayors in Southern Nevada have been diligently working together to solve our regional problems. Collaboratively, we are working to come out of this recession with a new position in the world economy. As home to one of the state’s largest undeveloped tracts of industrial land, North Las Vegas looks forward to working with the state to replicate recent economic development successes by bringing utilities and much needed infrastructure to this land.

We do get things done! Last week Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk cited Nevada’s ability to “get things done” as the primary reason behind the historic announcement. I urge the Southern and Northern legislators to work together to ensure Tesla’s batteries say “Made in Nevada” and then begin the work to sunset old formulas, properly fund infrastructure and social services in the South, and build a strong southern workforce by fully funding K-12 and higher education.

I urge our legislators to adopt the phrase “get things done” as the motto and goal of our upcoming 2015 legislative session. Together we can pass visionary investment opportunities for the South, including a medical school, and prepare our region to lead the nation in the aerospace and drone industries, and bring manufacturing and logistics to our vacant industrial parks. Now that the blueprint has proven to be a success, let’s replicate it in the South!

John Lee is mayor of North Las Vegas.