Donald P. Hutchinson is stepping down as president of the Greater Baltimore Committee. He’ll become president and chief executive of the Maryland division of SunTrust Banks Inc.
The former Baltimore County Executive reflected on his GBC tenure, the state of Baltimore City — and talked about why he can’t wait to take the reins of the state’s fifth-largest banking company.
You have been an elected official, president of nonprofit business groups — and now you are going into banking. What was key in your decision to leave the GBC?
I can tell you I had to think about it. I?ve been president of the GBC for nine years. Before that, I was president of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. Before that, a group called MEGA [Maryland Economic Growth Associates]. I?ve run not-for-profits for 16 years. It?s just time.
I loved having run an organization like the GBC — a very high-profile, very visible organization. But it?s time for me to go back to having broad responsibility and a substantial staff. You need a company to do that.
Banks are in the business of building things. Banks help build personal and community wealth. They invest in the future. That was very intriguing to me.
I was born and raised in Baltimore. I don?t want to leave town. The community building I have done is here. A bank presidency with a top corporation doesn?t come open very often. I was not interested in anything less. It was an opportunity I had to grab.
Did the GBC try to persuade you to stay?
No. When I notified chairman Frank Burch, he was leaving town. I called him in advance of the newspapers. Based on the way I presented this, he knew it was a firm decision. There was not an opportunity to convince me to stay. He understood and didn?t plead the organization?s case.
Will you help select your successor?
Yes. Ultimately, it will be a board decision, but I am very much engaged in the conversation.
What?s your first order of business at SunTrust when you begin Nov. 1? Have you started working informally?
I?ve just begun to meet some of the folks — through conference calls and lunch. I?ve put myself on a quick learning curve. Banking is not an industry I?ve been engaged in, and my experience is limited. I served on a thrift board a few years ago, but that exposure would be laughed at today.
I will have to learn about the product lines, sales team, retail operations and the various branches. I?ve got to familiarize myself with the bank — what we sell and how we sell it. I?m excited.
I have loved my 20 years in government. My eight years in county government were rewarding; I loved the GBC, and we made great strides. This is a totally new and different endeavor for me. I am very familiar with governing and governance. This is different, with different kinds of challenges. It?s a new learning experience.
Large banking institutions in cities like Baltimore often are criticized for their mortgage-lending policies as they relate to minorities and working-class individuals with less-than-stellar credit. Many are forced to go to alternative markets, where the interest rates are exorbitant. What are some of your thoughts on this?
I haven?t had the chance yet to review the policies at SunTrust, but it?s something I have thought about.
All banks have to comply with federal laws regarding community-reinvestment requirements. I know that Bank of America and many other banks are starting to pay close attention. It?s important.
That said, I do think it?s sometimes difficult for lending institutions to do business with people who have weak credit histories. Banks constantly have to consider the bottom line. The worst story that any bank, lending institution or a city can have is that they?re financially challenged.
Under your leadership, the Greater Baltimore Committee led an effort to help Mayor Martin O?Malley formulate ideas for revamping city government. The GBC’s 350 recommendations included privatizing city services. How do we reconcile more efficient city government with a public that feels like privatization causes less service and job loss?
The people most concerned about job loss are people inside the government themselves. That?s really not surprising. The taxpayers — the people who pay for government services — are not concerned about who delivers the services, they just want to know whether or not they will receive them.
None of us had the goal of job loss. No one wants to be responsible for that. Our charge from the mayor was to come up with ways that services could be improved. That?s what we attempted to do, and it was very rewarding.
It was also very effective. Statistically, about 80 percent of the recommendations have been adopted. For the first two years [of O?Malley’s administration], the mayor and deputy mayors almost used it as a textbook. It gave us great satisfaction to take on such a study and to deliver.
We brought our assets to the table. The consulting work we did would have cost the city millions. We did it with our own money, using pro-bono services and the help of numerous people in the private sector.
The mayor has used the recommendations pretty effectively.
Does such an example suggest the city is relying too heavily on the business community?
I don?t think the city relies on the business community. There should be a partnership with the business community and with neighborhoods. The city has to look at all constituencies in the same way.
I don?t think it?s anything wrong ever with looking at assets inside or outside government and using them to maximum advantage.
What initiatives are you most proud of from your GBC tenure?
The report is probably one of the two things. The other is the Hippodrome [Hippodrome Performing Arts Center].
It was a non-starter initiative, and nobody would have ever brought it to the table. We presented it to then-Mayor Kurt Schmoke, Gov. Parris Glendening, legislative leaders — namely Barbara Hoffman and Pete Rawlings — the business and theater communities.
We restructured the board of the [Baltimore Center for the Performing Arts]. We did that. It wasn?t until we were funded and got final approval that we took in other partners and engaged the Maryland Stadium Authority. Construction is under way; this is not speculative. I?m very proud of that.
When is it slated to open, and how many jobs will be created?
Winter 2004. Many jobs will be created — I?m not sure exactly how many. The indirect economic impact of redevelopment of a deteriorating neighborhood — that?s most important.
Look at the Mechanic Theatre — about 1,200 people go to a hundred performances a year. That?s 120,000 people coming into downtown.
When the Hippodrome opens and is in full flower, there will be about 200 shows a year, with an average of 2,000 people per performance. That?s 400,000 people. That number of people in the heart of downtown will feed new substantial growth.
At the same time, it draws together the University of Maryland at Baltimore and the business district. It closes the hole in the doughnut, so to speak.
Does the decay currently in the area trouble you?
This project could not succeed if the rest of the neighborhood remained the same. It would be a disaster. The Bank of America Centerpoint project is coming. The work that Peter Angelos and others are doing with the Westside Redevelopment Group is important. There will be new residential and commercial revitalization, in concert with a new cultural community.
I know the GBC often has focused on crime-fighting to help the city’s image and attract and maintain business. But what is the greatest challenge facing Baltimore City?
Drugs. It remains more than a thorn in the side of the mayor and this city. Regardless of what statistics might show, from my perspective, it is 100 percent responsible for crime in Baltimore City.
I don?t think there are any sane persons running around committing crimes that are not in some way connected to drugs — from the most petty of crimes to the most violent. Even cases of domestic abuse are often linked to some form of drug use.
I live and work here and see what a driving, impacting force drugs have on this city. The campaigns [including “Believe”] have helped, but it is still terribly, terribly real.
All we can do is keep fighting it from a criminal-justice perspective and a health perspective. We need a multitude of clinics, treatment and referral programs that focus on the user. The criminal-justice system needs to focus on the really bad guys.
The GBC has talked about the need for a new Baltimore Arena, even though Baltimore-Washington lost the 2012 Olympics bid. How do you feel about losng the bid — and why does Baltimore need another arena?
First, there was nothing catastrophic about us losing the Olympics bid. Is it unfortunate? Absolutely. Was it unfair? I think so. The conventional wisdom was that politics prevailed and that the decision was probably made months ago.
The people responsible could not have done a better job. It was approached in the most professional of ways. The good thing that has come out of this is a greater focus on common interests in Baltimore and Washington.
Even though we did not get the Olympics, I still think we need to focus on capital needs, like an arena. We need to look at it, go over it, look at the numbers.
Let?s face it, the Baltimore Arena is a dump. That?s unfortunate for this city. Is that to say it isn?t still worthwhile? No. It serves soccer fans.
People will go when there?s a good event. But it?s not an attractive facility; it?s 40 years old. Physically, it can?t feel as comfortable as other state-of-the art arenas around the country. The number of events is declining, and so is the number of people.
Anecdotally and quantitatively, you have to look at the potential for more numbers of people and events. A new arena that could hold up to 20,000 people — multiplied by 150 events — would bring millions into downtown.
Some believe we need a professional basketball franchise or hockey. I?m not so sure; it might cannibalize the other franchises.
There?s a lot of hand-wringing in Atlanta because of the inability to fill Turner?s Stadium during the Atlanta Braves playoffs. Some people think there?s indifference because they have won before — but from my perspective, it?s about people having many places to spend their sports dollar. We don?t want that to happen to the Orioles or the Ravens.
We can build an arena that can satisfy what people want in special sporting events. We can build the economics on family events, like the circus and Ice Capades, and interesting performers.
The GBC hasn?t made a new arena a major agenda item. It?s still preliminary. It won?t be decided today, but maybe in a couple of years.
On the East Side, the GBC is supporting a project that would develop a large area north of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Supporters envision a biomedical and technology center that will produce other economic opportunities. But Hopkins has been criticized as a bad neighbor, and others believe that the jobs created will be limited for those without sufficient education. Your thoughts?
This project is critically important to the community. If we can conceive of when the Hopkins project is completed [in about 10 years], all other economic-development initiatives that this city has seen will pale in comparison. That includes the long-term economic impact of the Inner Harbor.
It will create some 8,000 jobs and two million square feet of research space.
There will be three levels of jobs here — service-entry-level jobs. There will be middle-level jobs, such as lab assistants, for people who have advanced beyond high school. There will be jobs in the research sector that will be financially rewarding.
Can our school system train for these jobs? That?s a question that?s been asked and one we are engaged in.
The other impact, of course, is a new community of new homes. In Baltimore, while some neighborhoods like the waterfront are experiencing extensive reconstruction, the old, deteriorating neighborhoods have not.
We?re talking 1,000 new homes here — attractive and multi-income. That community redevelopment is very appealing.
That will solidify Hopkins’s place in the community. Whether they have been a good neighbor or not, the fact is they are part of the economic centerpoint of Central Maryland. It?s the largest private employer in the state and also the institution that creates Baltimore?s reputation in Europe and abroad. Everybody recognizes that.
The city could not survive if Johns Hopkins pulled down its shutters.
You?ve been quoted as saying that Baltimore residents can be skeptics. It happened with projects like the Inner Harbor. How do you get people excited about the possibilities?
It?s not easy [laughter]. Missouri is the “Show Me State,” but that ought to be Maryland. You need evidence here before hundreds of thousands of people believe. You constantly need vision. How can I explain it as a life-timer here?
We have a wonderful city with great colleges — just look at the schools in the Charles Street corridor alone — Villa Julie, Hopkins, Goucher. We have remarkable institutions like Hopkins and the University of Maryland. We have a great waterfront.
But then, something happens to kick us in the teeth, like the Colts leaving, and it?s a setback. We have a tendency in Baltimore to have a long memory and wring our hands and not understand. Resentment is built and skepticism is created.
Some of us look and see opportunity. You have to maintain your optimism. There?s a great old line that Butch Cassidy tells The Sundance Kid. I hope it doesn?t sound too self-serving. He tells him, “I have vision, but the rest of the world is wearing bifocals.”
Any further political aspirations?
I was in government for 20 years, and if someone wanted to appoint me governor, I?d take it in a New York minute. But I?m not going to do it again. I love to pontificate about the politics of what could happen.
It?s intriguing, but I don?t miss the lack of freedom. You have no control over your calendar. If you are county executive, mayor or in Congress, you?re never not working; even at church, someone will slip you a note. I still get calls.
This my fourth distinct career change — the fourth and, hopefully, the last [laughter].
