The DowntownDC Business Improvement District’s (BID) Director of Economic Development Gerry Widdicombe will serve on Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Working Group on Jobs, Wages, and Benefits (WGJWB).
The WGJWB will “draft recommendations to the Mayor and the Council on legislative, programmatic and policy ways to improve the District’s economic competitiveness in the region, attract and retain businesses and employees, protect and promote commercial diversity, and create and preserve good paying jobs,” according to the announcement of appointees.
“The District succeeds when its working families get a fair shot. I have convened the Working Group on Jobs, Wages, and Benefits to study, discuss and explore opportunities to support our workers while fostering an environment where businesses thrive,” said Bowser. “The appointees represent the best the District has to offer from government business, and labor organizations. I look forward to their recommendations.”
The group’s recommendation is due to be sent to the mayor by the end of this year.
Among 15 representatives from various branches, Widdicombe was designated as an appointee of the Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia. Widdicombe has served at the BID since 2000 and today has nearly 40 years of experience in finance and economic development. He is responsible for conducting economic research and analysis on DowntownDC and the broader District economies. This research culminates annually with the BID’s State of Downtown report, regarded as the definitive analysis of Downtown’s economy.
[Download your copy of the 2015 State of Downtown report and other past reports here.]