Question #5: 7.2% unemployment in Madison: Is LAIC doing enough?

Jon Hess rises with the following well-framed question: "When Madison has 7.2% unemployment while Brookings has 3% unemployment and is turning away new businesses, is the LAIC doing an adequate job?" The responses:

1. Nick Abraham: They're all "doing the best job they can." Madison has been losing jobs; it's been "a trend for a long time."
2. Myron Downs: Some people say we're at a disadvantage because of the distance from I-29, but I don't think that's the case. Towns in northwest Iowa are farther from the Interstate, and they have good jobs and businesses. We need more small businesses that hire 15-20 people and pay a decent wage. Brookings is doing o.k., but the city gives away land to get those businesses.
3. Mike McGowan: I've been laid off, so I understand what it's like to go home to a family and no paycheck. I don't know anything about the LAIC, but I'm going to find out.
4. Karen Lembcke: The LAIC is "doing a wonderful job." The economy is bad all over the place. The LAIC is doing all sorts of things "behind closed doors" that are necessary to draw businesses.

How do these answers rate?

• 3 points for Downs: He addresses one possible reason others give for Madison's job struggles, a reason relevant to Hess's Madison-Brookings comparison, and debunks it. He follows that with his own approach for building more jobs, a small-business approach that I like (and that the LAIC has generally ignored in its quest for the big score with large employers).
• 0 points for McGowan: With all due respect for McGowan's personal experience, he fails to answer the question. And how can a city commission candidate not know about the city's economic development corporation?
• 0 points for Abraham: Here Abraham appears to slip into whatever coaching he received to avoid criticizing anyone and instead stay positive. What happened to the youthful fire and willingness to challenge the establishment?
• 0 points for Lembcke: the incumbent manages to deny reality, ignore the question (the economy is not bad all over if Brookings is thriving, and they're only 40 miles away), and endorse more secrecy all in one minute. Sorry: you don't get to claim credit for anything that has to be kept secret. Lay it on the table, involve the community.