JOSHUA GARRETT

In speaking with the town manager Ed Mitro, I learned that there is no official job description for a town councilor.  This allows each individual to do the job in their own vision.  I view the town council in a similar way to a corporate board of directors.  A board is there as the ultimate decision maker but more importantly they set the strategic vision for the organization.  Much like a board of directors represent and report to stockholders, the town council should represent and report to voters.

 

In my roles at MOBI and the IMS, I am responsible for creating a vision for the organization.  I plan on taking that same approach and skill set in setting a vision for Zionsville.

 

My vision is around creating high-paying jobs here in our community.  Yes, everybody says that, but what’s the actual vision to achieve that easy sound bite?  Mine is a three-part plan that revolves around attracting, nurturing and growing talented people that want to call Zionsville home, to start and grow a business and to become involved in the community. I fully believe in the execution of this vision because it is my own story at MOBI.

 

There are three key questions that once fully realized, I believe, will allow for the achievement of this vision.

 

1. How do we get the attention of current and future entrepreneurs?  I want to work with town, county and state leaders as well as leveraging my own connections, to create a world-class technology infrastructure.  One pillar of this infrastructure would be to attract and build a high-speed fiber network that is available to residents at a reasonable cost (e.g. Google Fiber).  Zionsville can’t be everything to everybody, and that’s okay.  We don’t have the hipster bars of Mass Avenue or the dance clubs of Broad Ripple, each of which attract a younger tech-savvy crowd.  With a high-speed Internet service however we can attract individuals that need or want fast connectivity as a part of their personal or professional lives.  These types of people are the ones that will start businesses that can turn into the next MOBI or HC1.
    

2. Where do they go once they have an idea?  I’m a big fan, and a founding member, of the recently announced zWorks initiative.  This is a perfect incubator to allow Zionsville to compete for talent with Fishers (Launch Fishers), Indianapolis (SpeakEasy) and other communities.  People with ideas can use zWorks to meet mentors, investors, employees and help turn an idea into a business.  I recently spoke to two entrepreneurs starting businesses and this resource was something they were very interested in using to locate in Zionsville, a community not previously on their radar.  There are many more out there we can attract with the right approach and support.
    

3. How do you get them to stay when they outgrow zWorks?  An incubator is named appropriately, it nourishes new ideas until they are ready to grow up and stand on their own, freeing up space and resources for the next ideas.  I’d like to leverage our newly created Creekside Corporate Park or Northwest Technology Park to establish locations where these companies can grow, flourish, and become positive members of our community.

 

The final reason why I feel qualified for the job is that I view this as a way to give back to the community where I live and work.  I don’t have political aspirations or want to use this as a stepping stone for other offices.  I was reluctant to even consider this role and hadn’t considered it seriously until my wife told me I could use my background to help the community.   I believe in total transparency and plan to run my campaign, and office if elected, in an open manner.  I plan on doing what’s right for Zionsville and feel I have the vision to keep us moving forward on the right path.