Small Business Advocate of the Year Award (February 28, 2006) Terry Ramus has a doctorate in analytical chemistry, a successful high-tech company and an unshakable determination to go the distance for local economic development.
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| Terry Ramus, a winner of the California Chamber Small Business Advocate of the Year Award, participants in an Issues Forum for the Antioch Chamber of Commerce during the 2005 election cycle. |
Ramus, a recipient of the California Chamber of Commerce Small Business Advocate of the Year Award, owns and runs Diablo Analytical, Inc., which connects, integrates and tests scientific instrumentation systems for Fortune 5000 companies, high tech start-ups and government agencies.
He started Diablo Analytical in the late 1990s when the Silicon Valley biotech industry was a dominant force, and has experienced the ebbs and flows of changing times.
“Business is up since 9-11, but California is a tough state to do business in, and I have to travel a lot,” observes Ramus.
For the tech industry, the costs of doing business often are related to access to housing and commute times, according to Ramus. Because of these infrastructure factors, “recruiting outside of the Bay Area is difficult,” he says.
Primary Concerns
For these reasons, Ramus has put much effort into advancing policies that will bring high-quality infrastructure projects to his area. He currently is concerned with three major local issues: expansion of Highway 4, extension of Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) services to East Contra Costa County and establishing local business parks.
These issues deal directly with Antioch’s competitiveness in attracting businesses and maintaining a high quality of life for residents. The city, according to Ramus, is at the end of a regional “cul-de-sac,” and accessibility to larger metropolitan areas is a huge issue for commuters and for attracting new businesses.
Ramus has campaigned successfully for several local ballot measures that move Antioch toward this accessibility goal, including Measure J, which extended a local sales tax to fund infrastructure projects.
BART expansion has proven more difficult to advance, primarily because, in Ramus’ opinion, certain housing density mandates accompany expansion funds. “Antioch is suburban, and these regulations don’t work,” he says. “These philosophies make outlying areas more difficult to do business in, leading to more commuting and more traffic.” The challenge, then, is to make BART useful for the area’s economy and residents.
The establishment of business parks, however, is starting to be successful. Three business park zones have been set up in the Antioch area, and a new multistory, Class A office complex is being built. Most new business space has included flex space to accommodate businesses such as Ramus’ that bring in higher pay and would complement the existing economic base.
The goals of these strategies are economic and job growth, the overall reduction of people who need to commute and the creation of places where businesses can start up. In the next 10 years, Ramus expects to see the full fruition of the business community’s past labors. “It’s gratifying,” he says, “to see the results of all the work that’s been done.”
Direct Line to Advocacy
Ramus became an advocate about 10 years ago when state legislation threatened the professional engineering field, of which his business is a part. A move by certain interests to increase state licensing requirements would have drastically altered the number of people able to perform certain engineering tasks, leaving many private-sector individuals and firms - such as Ramus’ - out in the cold.
The Silicon Valley-based Professional and Technical Consultants Association and other partners opposed this licensure rewrite, which wound up in the California Legislature as SB 828 in 1998. Through close work with legislative allies, the group put an end to the problematic pieces of the licensure bill. Ramus then turned his attention to matters pressing in on his local business community.
He got involved with the Antioch Chamber of Commerce, where he helps review policies, recommend action, and campaign for high quality pro-business and pro-development positions. He has taken an active role in a number of local, regional and state ballot measures and bills, always working to give a voice to business needs and interests.
Ramus also was instrumental in creating the Antioch Chamber’s East PAC and in making sure the PAC was a force in local elections. One of his aims is to assure local political candidates know where the business community stands on a variety of issues and to encourage them to take a stand on the issues.
Linsey Dicks, chairman of the board of directors for the Antioch Chamber, has high praise for Ramus’ commitment to business advocacy.
“Terry does a remarkable job of staying informed on complex and controversial issues facing businesses and our community,” says Dicks. “He is respected for his level-headed yet passionate approach in discussing his point of view. He represented the Antioch Chamber of Commerce in many political battles, and our opinions carried added weight with his voice.”
Not a Solo Act
Devi Lanphere, president/chief executive officer of the Antioch Chamber, gives Ramus a great deal of credit for recent successes in Antioch, saying he has “positively changed the future of the Antioch Chamber’s advocacy platform.
“His actions included founding our PAC, taking several successful positions, visiting our legislators, actively campaigning on two local measures and moderating two forums,” Lanphere says.
Ramus accepts this praise modestly: “I don’t do this all on my own - there is always a core group of people who lead the effort.”
Eyes of a Scientist
Ramus’ strategy for accomplishing the diverse goals of his advocacy work is rooted in his profession. “I look at the issues through the eyes of a scientist,” he says. “I study the issue, study the options, analyze the competition and look for a strategic plan.”
Ramus also is motivated by “a feeling that it’s everyone’s duty to contribute a little of their time and effort to make our state, community and country viable for the future.”
Ramus encourages business people to become involved in the questions that face their communities before a problem arises, saying, “There are things that are happening in our economy that a lot of business people don’t see. The business community needs to spend more time putting in the effort to neutralize some of these opposing philosophies.”