Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

For more than a century, city leaders have attempted to find niche industries for El Paso.

Whether it was the failed garment industry or the city's declining manufacturing sector, some argue that El Paso has always depended on a single industry to promote success.

Others maintain that the problem for El Paso was not a narrow plan but rather no plan at all.

"I have heard economists say that El Paso's strategy has, in the past few decades, hinged on its ability to attract business by marketing cheap labor," said Bob Cook, president of the city's Regional Economic Development Corp., or REDCO. "I disagree. I think El Paso did not attract high-technology jobs because of the lack of strategic planning. I don't think the city was out to sell cheap labor; it was not out to sell itself at all."

Today -- because of the influx of soldiers expected from the Base Realignment and Closure process, the expanding medical school and Downtown revitalization efforts -- officials argue that the city is in the best position it has ever been to draw businesses and secure lasting economic development.

In fact, officials of REDCO say they are working on an effort to draw and sustain three key industries: military, defense and homeland security; health-care and biomedical businesses; and automotive-related companies.

Additional industries include manufacturing, maquila suppliers, water technology, corporate and regional headquarters, and technical support.

"I would not disagree with any of those industries," said Wes Jurey, the former president and CEO of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, who is now the president and CEO of the Arlington (Texas) Chamber of Commerce. "This is the baby boomers age, and health care and biomedicine will be very successful. The huge influx at Fort Bliss and White Sands represents more potential in the area of high-technology jobs than the city has ever seen.

"I would probably try to broaden the automotive industry to include more manufacturing, especially since the (automotive) industry is currently being challenged," Jurey said. "I do think it could be a base to think about engaging advanced manufacturing and service materials."

According to the Texas Automotive Manufacturing Industry Report, published three months ago, General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler "ended 2006 with losses in the billions of dollars, falling sales and historically low market shares."

Since 2005, five of the nation's largest auto parts suppliers filed for bankruptcy, according to the report.

Nationally, manufacturing industry numbers experienced a spike in April, but the local industry has been declining for the past six years.

About 15,600 local jobs were lost in the manufacturing between 2000 and 2006, according to a report by the city Economic Development Department.

But officials argue that the proximity to Mexico will allow the city to reap the benefits of spinoff jobs and an advanced manufacturing sector.

"We can't compete on a labor basis with our own backyard," said Kathryn Dodson, director of the city Economic Development Department. "Capital-intensive, creative industries are good for El Paso. Manufacturing products have to be designed; they have to be engineered. We know that UTEP is graduating great engineers and that the design component often happens (in the United States). We want to see more of that happening (in El Paso)."

During 2002-03, 1,324 businesses opened in El Paso. During the same time, 1,285 businesses shut down.

Overall job growth fluctuated during 2000-03, but it grew steadily in the next three years, according to city officials. In 2006, they said, El Paso had 264,800 jobs.

The key to further economic development and job growth, according to Dodson, lies within city leaders' ability to continue working together and in the training of workers to fill positions in the industries being sought.

"It's kind of two sides of the same coin, and that's what is going to help people bridge that gap, because if you train somebody in something that you don't have a job for, you're not getting anyone out of poverty," Dodson said. "In fact, you're probably making things worse because you know they've put time and effort into something that is not going to be useful. So we're trying to be very careful about that and work very closely with people."

This article was published in Week 6 of the El Paso Times Poverty Series.