CAMDEN — The dissolving of a solid cooperative working relationship between Camden city governmental and Ouachita Partnership for Economic Development dismays us.
Economic development has been one of the - if not most - vital issues since the departure of major industrial employers, most notably International Paper.
In the years of trying to rebound from that devastating blow to our economy, the city and Ouachita County governments have worked with OPED to pursue new and grow existing industries and businesses.
Unfortunately, that working relationship with the city has been damaged to the extent that OPED has found it necessary to move out of the building that was built expressly to pursue economic development. It’s not that OPED will be without a home or partners in its endeavors. The offices will be in the former Molex building, which is owned by the Camden Area Industrial Development Corporation, a longtime private group working for the economic betterment and stability of the community.
OPED’s continued operation of the Ouachita Valley Business and Technology Center on South Adams since it was built became jeopardized when Camden Mayor Julian Lott - who is also chairman of the Camden Port Authority that owns the building - proposed that the Port Authority not renew OPED’s lease.
Responding in a move that we interpret as preferring to get on with business rather than protracted back-and-forth talks with the mayor, the OPED board decided on its own to go in a more secure, less distracting direction by setting up shop in CAIDC’s Molex building.
We will not go into all the claims and counter-claims that have been going on between the mayor and OPED. But it’s evident that the mayor’s animosity toward OPED - and specifically its director, James Lee Silliman - has led to the dissolution of the working relationship.
If Lott’s intention was to get rid of OPED, that hasn’t happened and will not happen. It and its continuing partnerships in Ouachita County will continue to vigorously work on behalf of our economic development and solid working relationships with our industries and businesses.
It would be so much better if the city would not isolate itself from our economic development efforts. Animosity is not leadership and we suggest to the city that when it comes to our economy, either lead or get out of the way.
(Editor’s note: Sue Silliman, general manager of the Camden News, is the spouse of OPED director James Lee Silliman. She neither suggested this editorial nor participated in its writing.)