Brad Barnett moved to the Lilac City earlier this year to lead the Spokane Business Association, an organization formed last year to advocate for business interests in the region. 

The Journal sat down with Barnett to learn more about his background, the direction of the association, and some of the hot-button issues with which he's involved.

Can you tell us a little about your background? 

The last 12 years, I've worked at two Chambers of Commerce in Texas. In Midland, I ran tourism and oversaw construction of the new Bush Convention Center. And then in Kerrville, I was president and CEO at the Kerrville Area Chamber for about 3 1/2 years in the Texas hill country, north of San Antonio. I'm really excited to bring that expertise here. 

People say, is the Spokane Business Association a chamber? Well, a chamber is a business association, but one of the things I think chambers do well when they're really focused is that advocacy piece. And the focus for SBA is making sure we're advocating on behalf of our members.

What attracted you to this position?

Spokane Business Association has been around nine, maybe 10 months. What really drew me to this position is to get to build something from the ground up. 

When I was teaching video production, a long time ago in a past life, I went to Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, and rebuilt the program from the ground up. I started with 12 students in 1995, and I think they're up to 350 now.

So, it's being able to kind of get in on the ground level, build that foundation, and then see that success later on. I'm probably 15 years plus from retirement. I would love to be able to spend all that time here in Spokane and getting SBA on a good footing. And then, maybe in 15 years or so, retire, continue to enjoy Spokane, and watch somebody else take it from there.

Upon formation, the Spokane Business Association had Gavin Cooley as CEO, and Gavin came in with what appears to be kind of a different skillset from what you are bringing to the table. He's well connected to the Spokane community and known for an ability to reach across political aisles, so to speak. Not to suggest that you can't do that, but you're coming with more of a traditional chamber role. Can you give us a little bit of insight into the thought process in terms of, why the organization felt it needed someone with your skillset at this juncture?

I think when you start at a new organization, there are always growing pains. As you get into it, sometimes you realize you don't know what you don't know. 

I love working with Gavin (now director of strategic initiatives). His connections in the community are phenomenal. One of the early Zoom interviews I did before I came here in person was with Gavin. One of the things I told him is, his skillset and connections were one of the reasons I wanted to take this position.

If I was coming into a brand new organization, moving 2,000 miles, and not having somebody that can kind of bridge that gap in the community and already doing the work, I think I would've been a lot more hesitant to take the position. 

So again, lots of good connections, but as you get a nonprofit up and running, you need somebody with that background that can really build something. If you're going to build a building, you want to make sure that foundation is solid, and that's what we wanna do at SBA.

We've already had great support from the fundraising they did when they launched the organization, and I think we've had a lot of wins over the past nine months. We're already making a difference. Getting somebody with Gavin's connections and my background in really getting stuff built from the ground up make us a really great team.

I think one concern when the association first started was that it would be duplicative. We have Greater Spokane Incorporated and few other chambers in the area, as well as other business organizations. 

One of the things that I've done in my first five weeks is meet with the leadership at GSI, the Downtown Spokane Partnership, Spokane Valley Chamber, and others. I'm really getting their feedback on what's going on in the community. We're not here to duplicate. If Greater Spokane Inc. has a program that's working, we're not going to duplicate. We want to support what they're doing. 

With a regional chamber like GSI, they can't focus on every issue, so I think there is definitely a place for SBA. One of the big things is trying to clean up downtown and really be that voice, and Gavin has done a phenomenal job of, for lack of a better term, sounding the alarm bell of here's what's going on in our downtown. Here's the addiction issues we're facing. Here's the homeless problem. Let's fix the problem. 

I think that's what business associations and chambers do well. We're conveners. We bring diverse groups together. At the city level, that really shouldn't be a Republican or a Democrat issue. It should be nonpartisan. What's best for Spokane? Let's have a debate. Let's talk it out and come up with a solution that moves our community forward.

On the issues involving downtown, when will we know we're making progress? 

When some of the numbers improve. With the amount of overdose deaths in our community because of drugs, we're on track, if we don't do something soon, to have a record, I think, 500 deaths this year. It's sad. 

Fentanyl is so much worse than other drugs. Every time I'm visiting family back in West Virginia, I mean, the whole state has dealt with it. Fentanyl and drug addiction tend to happen when you've got people that don't have jobs, where there's nothing to do, and it's a way for them to escape what they see as a hopeless future. We've got to make sure that there's paths to get people out of the addiction. When we start seeing those numbers turn around, I think that will be a good indication. 

What are some of the other bright fires the Spokane Business Association is looking at right now? 

Transportation is a big issue in any community. We're wanting to be part of that conversation, because right now, they're working on narrowing some of the lanes on North Division Street. I just haven't seen numbers in any community, no matter what cities try to do, where that really increases the ridership.

We really want to make sure that the leaders of the city are really looking at this and going, 'Is this a pipe dream?' Are we doing this just because we have money in the Spokane Transit Authority to do it? Or do we really think it will help? 

My fear is, with narrowing these lanes, it's going to make it harder for people to get into some of these businesses. They'll say, 'Well, I could stop here, but then I've gotta turn around and go back a block. Or I can just go somewhere else to eat.'

We're really looking at that from a holistic standpoint of, if this domino falls, what are the potential negative impacts? 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.