Earlier this year, Governor Ned Lamont announced David Lehman as his Commissioner for the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and as his Senior Economic Advisor. In April, Lehman joined the CEDAS membership for a conversation about economic development under the new administration. More than 100 CEDAS members attended the event that was hosted by Eversource. Lehman described his background in finance including his time at Goldman Sachs. He also shared the Governor’s vision for economic development, that the State will play a more active role in recruiting and retaining companies in Connecticut. He expressed a strong desire to work with local economic developers and an interest in reducing regulations that are bad for business. Lehman spoke and answered questions for an hour and then stuck around to answer every remaining question.
CEDAS President, Garrett Sheehan, led the conversation with Lehman and called his approach “refreshing.” Sheehan said, “The Commissioner and this Administration have brought a fresh approach to economic development. As evidenced today, they are listening to the people on the ground and working to build a best in class economic development program.” Lehman closed the session by asking, “When can we do this again?”