Younger people, especially those who are skilled or educated, create wealth, new ideas, and attract businesses looking for large, educated labor pools to the cities that have them.

Sometimes known as the "Creative Class", they are younger citizens at the top of their fields or studies who are paid to think, create, or solve problems. They are innovators, entrepreneurs, artists, website developers, software engineers, educators, soon to be doctors or lawyers, businessmen and women, scientists, and more. These are the individuals who help shape cities for tomorrow. Wherever they decide to migrate to, that is where they will form their businesses, shoot their movies, start their bands, teach, form their organizations and so on.

Imagine having the next Google, Facebook, or Yahoo started and headquarted in Sacramento. Imagine the next breakthroughs in science and technology coming from Sacramento. Or the next hit band calling Sacramento their home. How about the next blockbuster movie being shot in Midtown? Imagine the jobs that would be created, the money from taxes so we don't have to keep cutting the city budget. Imagine the businesses that will want to move here once they see that Sacramento is a destination for the best and the brightest. Members of the Creative Class are the ones who do these things. Every city has individuals from the Creative Class. Sacramento has them, San Francisco has them, Seattle has them and so on and so forth. The question is, where will they decide to settle down, and what are we doing to attract them here?

If your city is attracting them, it most likely has good things in store for it in the future. If your city is losing them, or they don't see your city as an attractive place to live or settle down in, well, your city will most likely suffer the economic and social consequences. Cities across the country are doing their darndest to attract these young up and comers. If I am elected, it will be my foremost goal to make Sacramento a place that the best and the brightest will want to come (or stay) to live, work, settle down in, and help build our city for the future.

Major destinations for those just starting out in their careers are San Francisco, New York City, D.C., Seattle, and Los Angeles to name a few. Can the capitol city of the world's 8th largest economy compete with those big names in attracting the young professionals of tomorrow? Absolutely. We need to bring the right jobs to Sacramento such as those in the fields of science and technology, as well as those in the health, media, and arts sectors. Young people want jobs, and they go where they are. We also need to make sure Sacramento is a cool place to live. Tomorrow's young professionals want a hip nightlife, and vibrant downtown areas to hang out at after they've finished their work for the day. They also want plenty of activities such as music festivals, Second Saturdays, and amateur sports clubs and social groups to be involved in. That's where they meet friends, network, and where they will possibly meet their future mate (also high on the next generation's priority list). They also want to be able to afford to live where they work. It's no fun being in a cool city that at the same time breaks your pocketbook.

As a member of Best Buy's "Competitive Strategies Group," I will use my experience with the group to make sure Sacramento is on par with some of the top cities so we attract the right kinds of jobs, have the coolest things to do, and to make Sacramento a destination for those just starting out in life. We can become the next "IT" city. We can become a destination, a hub for the best and the brightest for tomorrow's leaders, and an intellectual and social mecca of the West, if not the world. We can do this, and if I am elected to city council for district three, it will be one of my main priorities to make sure we are the place where tomorrow's young professionals want to come to live, work, and play.

First off, they are looking for JOBS. If your city doesn't have a diverse job market, and one that is hiring, they most likely won't be showing up any time soon. Second, they are looking for affordability. These individuals are just starting out in their careers, and they want housing that won't break their bank accounts. Third, they are looking for cool things to do. The Creative Class are looking for cities that have a vibrant downtown and nightlife, sports and social clubs, lively art districts, and plenty of fun things to do where they can meet new people in order to make friends, and expand their networks. Fourth, these young professionals are looking for their potential mate. If your city has the jobs, and the cool social events and groups to go with them, this one will normally take care of itself. And finally, the Creative Class is looking to be surrounded with other individuals like themselves. Like the fourth item, if Sacramento has the jobs, social events and groups, this will also likely take care of itself as we begin to attract the next generation. The next generation, the young professionals, i.e. the "Creative Class," will be become the cornerstone of Sacramento economically and socially if we are attracting them, and give them a reason to stay. If I am elected, I will seek to put all of the ducks in a row so we can do just that. Sacramento can be known as the intellectual, social, and arts mecca of the United States, where the best and the brightest flock to for jobs, social activities, and hopefully to settle down in, and to help build the city for the future.