News broke on Friday that Iowa lost about 2,300 non-farm jobs in August, causing the state’s unemployment rate to rise from 6 percent to 6.1 percent. On the same day, Governor Terry Branstad named 11 voting members of a new Economic Development Authority board. Branstad said the board will “play a large role in promoting Iowa to businesses looking to expand or relocate in Iowa,” with a view to fulfilling his campaign promises to create 200,000 new jobs and raise family incomes by 25 percent.

After the jump I’ve posted some background on the new board, its mission, and the six men and five women Branstad appointed.

The Iowa legislature supported Branstad’s plan to reorganize the state Department of Economic Development into a public-private Partnership for Economic Progress. House File 590 defined this restructuring and called for establishing an Economic Development Authority Board and an Iowa Innovation Corporation. The Economic Development Authority Board will replace the state’s Economic Development Board, which held its last meeting on September 15.

House File 590 requires the Economic Development Authority Board to have eleven voting members named by the governor. Specifically, the law calls on the governor to appoint:

*at least two board members from each of the four new Congressional districts

*one person who also serves on the Iowa Innovation Council

*one person with “professional experience in finance, insurance, or investment banking”

*one person with “professional experience in advanced manufacturing”

*one person with “professional experience in small business development”

*one person with “professional experience representing the interests of organized labor”

*six people “who are actively employed in the private, for-profit sector of the economy or who otherwise have substantial expertise in economic development

The new board will also include seven ex officio non-voting members: a state senator and state representative from each political party, the president of the Board of Regents (or his designee), a president of a university of private college (or that person’s designee), and the president of a community college (or that person’s designee).

The Economic Development Authority Board is charged with drafting a “strategic plan for economic development” in Iowa, including measurable goals such as:

*”the number of net new jobs created”

*”the average wage and benefit levels for such jobs”

*”the impact to average household income for Iowa families as a result of the jobs created”

The ex officio Economic Development Authority Board members will be named in the next few weeks; the board is scheduled to meet for the first time on October 20. Here are the Branstad appointees:

Dawn Ainger, Genova Technologies, Inc.; resident of Hiawatha

David Bernstein, State Steel; resident of Sioux City

Pete Brownell, Brownells; resident of Grinnell

Dr. Ted Crosbie, Monsanto; resident of Earlham

Brenda Cushing, Aviva; resident of West Des Moines

Larry Den Herder, Interstates Companies; resident of Sioux Center

Kaye DeLange, Cargill; resident of Fremont

John Lisle, Lisle Corporation; resident of Clarinda

Rosemary Parson, FBL Financial Group, Inc.; resident of Urbandale

Delia Meier, Iowa 80 Group, Inc.; resident of Eldridge

Daniel White, John Deere Dubuque Works; resident of Dubuque

Bernstein, Lisle and White were members of the previous state Economic Development Board. White is the labor representative on the new body; he is president of United Auto Workers Local 94 at the John Deere Dubuque Works. According to the Des Moines Register, seven of the voting board members are registered Republicans (Ainger, Brownell, Crosbie, Den Herder, DeLange, Lisle and Meier), three are Democrats (Bernstein, Cushing and White), and Parson is an independent. Brownell gave Branstad’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign about $21,000, and Lisle gave $50. Bernstein gave about $6,500 to Governor Chet Culver’s re-election campaign, and Crosbie gave Culver $1,000.

Three voting board members reside in the new first Congressional district: Ainger, Brownell, and White

Two voting board members reside in the new second Congressional district: Meier and DeLange

Four voting board members reside in the new third Congressional district: Crosbie, Cushing, Lisle, and Parson

Two voting board members reside in the new fourth Congressional district: Bernstein and Den Herder

On a related note, former Governor Tom Vilsack’s flagship economic development program, the Grow Iowa Values Fund, is being phased out. Iowa Department of Economic Development Director Debi Durham says the Economic Development Authority board will draft a new incentive program for private businesses by January 2012. Radio Iowa reported on September 16,

One of the final Values Fund awards handed out Thursday includes $3 million in direct financial assistance to help Alcoa with the expansion of a plant in Davenport, creating 150 jobs. [Iowa Department of Economic Development Director Debi] Durham says state incentives are critical to keeping companies like Alcoa from moving jobs elsewhere.

“When you look at it, in the entire scope of (Alcoa’s) project, it was actually a very small incentive package,” Durham said. “But, that small incentive package allowed them to stake out a competitive place in this platform in the international economy. So, we think that’s very important.”

Alcoa officials say the improvements to the Davenport facility will cost $300 million.

I would be surprised if the “new incentives” differ much from the incentives the Values Fund has handed out since 2005. I also doubt that the revamped economic development efforts will make much headway toward Branstad’s 200,000 new jobs goal. Here’s hoping the board members prove me wrong.