Victor Hoskins to lead Arlington economic development

[adelphi_sky]

All is not lost. At least for College Park.

“The transformation, the economic development, the job creation that he has done in Howard County is really very remarkable,” Loh said. “If he can do that for Howard County, then he can do that for Prince George’s County or specifically for this area around College Park.”

Former Howard County executive announces plans to transform College Park - The Diamondback : News

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

What does that have to do with anything? He's not a politician. If you want to read into someone switching jobs after he stated that it was for a shorter commute, then so be it. He doesn't have to lie. He's not trying to win votes. If the main reason was that he saw better opportunities in Alexandria, he could have said that which is perfectly understandable. I'm not sure why he would have to duck and dive just because he wants to change jobs. lol Again, reducing one's commute from an hour to ten minutes in this congested area is valuable to a lot of people.

He gave no indication that he preferred the development potential in Alexandria over PGC. It is a fact that given the lack of development in PGC, there is MORE potential PGC and Victor could have built a legacy on that. So, I'm not convinced, as you say, that he somehow lacked motivation to work in PGC because of the lack of development potential. He was hired to cultivate that potential.

The Baltimore job was an easy sell as well. He would be part of the state administration which would have given him more resources. He could still support development in PGC as secretary of Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development. Only with more power and resources. But even still, the man said he wanted to have a work/life balance. Simple. I don't blame him. If you recall, he used to work in DC. I'm pretty sure his wife didn't like the idea of him traveling all over Maryland. As a married man, I get it.

I am pointing this out because the man only stayed in this position for 6 months. If I am a resident, I am scratching my head. He had all of these ideas and all of these glowing things to say about PG but he has been quick to leave. Is it a crime to hold these individuals accountable? You pay their salary, shouldn't you be concerned about how decisions like this affect the county? Why is it a problem to be critical of these things?

The Baltimore job is an easy sell but it's not a shorter commute which is the reason why I'm not buying what he said. If the commute was an issue, then does what would he have considered that position? What is it about his position in PG that had him looking just 6 months later? I'm not here to speculate on that but I am saying that if there is any issues that he experience, it would behoove the residents that they are resolved so this isn't a revolving door.

If you are okay with losing leadership on perhaps the one thing that the county is trying to focus on, then I don't know what to tell you. I just think it's a bad look. The county need stability. It needs people who believe in what's happening and the willingness to see it happen, but it doesn't look like that's happening.

[WhoDatInMD]

I'm not buying the shorter commute excuse. Especially if he was considering working in Baltimore. I used this excuse when I left a past employer, even though the real issues involved the leadership, because I didn't want to burn the bridge in case I needed to return for whatever reason or references in the future. He probably saw more potential for his career to grow and flourish in Arlington and just jumped at the opportunity. This would indicate he had some type of issue with PGC since he couldn't even stay a full year. It would've been nice if he voiced publicly his issue(s), which would've put more pressure on PGC to fix the issue(s), and did so in a constructive feedback type of way. If he did so in private to the PGC leadership, hopefully they listened and will act upon fixing the issue(s), if those issue(s) are credible.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by WhoDatInMD

I'm not buying the shorter commute excuse. Especially if he was considering working in Baltimore. I used this excuse when I left a past employer, even though the real issues involved the leadership, because I didn't want to burn the bridge in case I needed to return for whatever reason or references in the future. He probably saw more potential for his career to grow and flourish in Arlington and just jumped at the opportunity. This would indicate he had some type of issue with PGC since he couldn't even stay a full year. It would've been nice if he voiced publicly his issue(s), which would've put more pressure on PGC to fix the issue(s), and did so in a constructive feedback type of way. If he did so in private to the PGC leadership, hopefully they listened and will act upon fixing the issue(s), if those issue(s) are credible.

Well that depends on when he was offered the Alexandria job. If the Alexandria job was not open, his choice was to work in a state administration position, or stay in PGC. I would have taken the administration position too. You have more power and resources than you would at the county level. I don't think there was any slight on PGC. Remember, he worked in DC, so he knew the PGC administration and perhaps even workd with them on some issues. I fail to believe that what he discovered in 6 months on the job, he didn't already know during his years working for DC. To say that he accepted a job with blindfolds on doesn't give him any credit or benefit of the doubt. He doesn't seem like a guy that would just haphazardly accept a job without knowing what he's getting into.

Second, I disagree that there's more potential in Arlington. While Arlington is further along in development and has a steady momentum, I think PGC has greater potential in that there is so much unused land inside the Beltway. And a guy with his credentials wouldn't necessarily shy away from a challenge like that. Especially since developers are now warming up to doing business in PGC. The FBI would have been his main priority. That's plenty reason to stay around. If he felt the job was too hard, then perhaps his talents aren't what many have led us to believe.

If there were any internal issues, I find it hard to believe that they weren't manageable. Rashurn Baker has never come off as someone that didn't know how to work with talented individuals for the benefit of the county.

[justtitans]

Arlington not Alexandria