Dee Dee Myers says small businesses are a cornerstone in the state’s recovery
On the very day it was announced that Dee Dee Myers would be the new director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, she wasted no time in reaching out to NFIB California to solicit its thoughts on how the state might turn things around.
“We had a nice 20-minute, one-on-one chat,” said NFIB California State Director John Kabateck. “She was sincerely interested in what our members are telling us and wants our future input on what we believe needs to be done right the ship of the California economy.”
In addition to leading the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as GO-Biz, which is a cabinet-level position, Myers will also serve as a senior adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Myers’ political experience is nonpareil by any other Newsom appointee, stretching back to Walter Mondale’s 1984 presidential campaign. Later, she became the first woman press secretary to serve a president of the United States when President Clinton made her his first press secretary. Work on numerous campaigns before and after she left the White House have given her an experience few can match, and part of that experience is the importance of working across the political aisle.
“I told her that one of our big issues is liability protection against unfair COVID-19 lawsuits aimed at small-business owners and reminded her of the similarities to the ADA reforms one of her former bosses, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, worked on,” said Kabateck.
Although born in Rhode Island, Myers spent her formative years in Valencia, California, while her father served as a Navy aviator who did two tours of duty in the Vietnam War and her mother sold real estate, according to Wikipedia. Myers is a graduate of Santa Clara University.
“We had a very constructive conversation,” said Kabateck, “and I appreciated the outreach, but I was adamant that small businesses are dying on the vine and we need to reopen Main Street now.”
