Midwestern Transplant Roots for L.A. Business

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Gary Toebben took the helm of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce three years ago under circumstances that would be trying for any chief executive.

Toebben’s predecessor, the much-respected Rusty Hammer, was forced to step down to fight the cancer that eventually killed him, leaving the chamber without a full-time chief executive for almost a year before Toebben’s arrival. What’s more, the 61-year-old Toebben, who spent 32 years managing chambers in the Midwest, was a stranger to Los Angeles. He had to learn the lay of the land and get up to speed on key business issues.

Meanwhile, labor had been racking up victories, pushing elected L.A. officials to enact anti-business policies, such as expansion of the living wage ordinance to Los Angeles International Airport-area hotel workers.

Toebben and the chamber immediately went on the offensive, filing a lawsuit to stop the city’s extension of its living wage ordinance to the hotels, stepping up political involvement and strengthening ties with other local business organizations.

The living wage challenge ultimately proved unsuccessful. But the issue lit a fire under the chamber’s leadership. So Toebben worked with chamber board member David Fleming to launch the Los Angeles County Business Federation, or BizFed. The group was formed in an effort to get political attention as a counterweight to labor’s influence. They hope to do that by getting business groups to speak with one voice on key issues.

Toebben is lauded for his coalition-building skills.

“The chamber has worked effectively with other voices in the city that are business related,” said Wendy Greuel, who worked closely with the chamber on business tax and other issues as a councilwoman before her election as city controller. “Gary has made that a cornerstone of his administration at the chamber.”

Toebben also led a successful effort to do something no other interest group had done in California despite more than 50 years of effort: change the way legislative districts are drawn up in redistricting. That power will be taken away from the Legislature and given to a commission. The change is intended to relax the grip of entrenched incumbents on their districts. The change was approved by voters statewide last year and will take effect after the 2010 census.

He also expanded the chamber’s Mobility 21 transportation coalition to include all five Southern California counties. So when Southern California interests lobby Congress for scarce transportation dollars, they now present a united front instead of having each county trying to outbid the others.

But for all this, the strength of L.A.’s business lobby still pales beside that of labor; everyone, including Toebben, acknowledges there’s a long way to go. Just last month, the City Council approved a raise in the city’s living wage for airport contractors who do not provide health insurance, despite chamber opposition.

Inside the chamber, Toebben has managed the very difficult feat of keeping the membership from a steep decline despite the deepest recession in 70 years. The chamber’s roster of member companies now stands at about 1,600, down only 30 from its peak of 1,630 at the beginning of 2008.

On the personal side, Toebben, an avid mountain climber, recently racked up another triumph: hiking to the top of Japan’s 12,390-foot Mount Fuji. He said he’s still trying to get a permit to climb the highest peak in the continental United States: 14,494-foot Mount Whitney.

“Maybe we’ll get that permit next year,” he said.

BUSINESS GROUP


GARY TOEBBEN

, 61

Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce


YEARS ON THE JOB: 3


QUOTE: “We haven’t laid off anyone and we have still been able to provide the same level of service to our members and to the community.”

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Howard Fine
Howard Fine is a 23-year veteran of the Los Angeles Business Journal. He covers stories pertaining to healthcare, biomedicine, energy, engineering, construction, and infrastructure. He has won several awards, including Best Body of Work for a single reporter from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers and Distinguished Journalist of the Year from the Society of Professional Journalists.

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