Virginia – and America as a whole – may be touting an economic surge. But too many communities feel as though they’ve been left behind. Abandoned downtowns that were once thriving. A generation that feels like it needs to leave to prosper. Our Commonwealth is filled with municipalities that struggle to maintain their tax base and generate jobs, while a few hours away, others prosper. And those who appear to be successful? It’s likely that they, too, can explore new areas to maximize their potential.
Municipal Prosperity Group works with communities to ignite success. We’ve helped attract businesses, workers and visitors. We’ve written books on how to do so. And we’re honored to offer our services to municipalities across Virginia, and the entire country.
About the Municipal Prosperity Group
Like so much of America, Virginia has centers of economic energy and remarkable innovation, as well as communities that struggle to maintain their tax base and retain their next generation.
Our research and practical experience demonstrate that there is opportunity for struggling communities to make progress – and for even the most successful municipalities to improve incrementally.
Dr. Jerry Gordon and John Siddall are at the helm of the Municipal Prosperity Group. Dr. Gordon has successfully led the 40-year resurgence of Fairfax County, Virginia, taking it from a suburban residential community to a job-generating colossus. Working together with Dr. Gordon for 35+ years, John Siddall has helped tell the world about the resources in Northern Virginia and attract hundreds of thousands of jobs from across the nation and around the world.
In addition to our Fairfax County experience, we have worked in communities across the globe. Among the most helpful resources is Dr. Gordon’s research interviewing mayors and municipal leaders in nearly 200 communities across the United States. He has published six books chronicling his experience and built a body of knowledge that any community can make progress once the leadership understands what needs to be done. Today, Dr. Gordon and John Siddall have turned their rich knowledge into tangible services for transforming communities.
Gerald Gordon, Ph.D.
Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., serves as a Fellow in the Joseph P. Riley Center for Livable Communities at the College of Charleston. He also teaches in the college’s Graduate School of Public Administration and serves as faculty in the Institute of Local Government Leadership.
Until 2018, Dr. Gordon served for 35 years as the president and CEO of the Economic Development Authority in Fairfax County, Virginia, the second-largest suburban office market in the nation. Under his leadership, office space in the county grew from 32 million square feet to more than 116 million, jobs more than doubled, and the real estate tax rate decreased from $1.47 to $1.13.
Dr. Gordon also worked for 10 years for the Arlington County, Virginia, local government and the United States Department of Labor. He has taught at Catholic University, the University of Maryland, George Mason University, and Virginia Commonwealth University. He has consulted with city and state governments throughout the United States and around the world, as well as the governments of Poland, the island of Vieques in Puerto Rico, and Micronesia. Dr. Gordon also served as a consultant to various government agencies, the United States Navy, businesses, non-profit organizations, associations, colleges and universities, and the United Nations.
Dr. Gordon is the author of 12 books on strategic planning and economic development. His most recent book is Understanding Community Economic Growth and Decline (Routledge Press, 2018). Other books include The Economic Survival of America’s Isolated Small Towns (CRC Press, 2015), The Economic Viability of Micropolitan America (CRC Press, 2013), Reinventing Local and Regional Economies (CRC Press, 2011) and The Formula for Economic Growth on Main Street America (CRC Press, 2009). He holds a bachelor’s degree from The Citadel, a master’s degree from The George Washington University, and a doctorate in international economics from The Catholic University of America.
John Siddall
John Siddall is the founder of Siddall Communications, a marketing and branding agency based in Richmond, Virginia. He has more than four decades of experience in public information and communications.
Siddall’s agency works with public sector clients like Virginia Department of Transportation, Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, AMTRAK, and Virginia Tourism Corporation. He and his team have also worked on the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority account for more than 40 years, helping to take it from a small Northern Virginia community to an economic powerhouse. Other clients he has served include the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, Georgia Department of Transportation, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Jamestown 2007, National Capital Region Emergency Alert System, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, The Virginia Lottery, The Springfield Interchange, I-95 Richmond Bridge Restorations Project, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, Virginia Film Office and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
John’s work has received gold medals in the One Show, CLIOs, ANDYs and EFFIES. He has been named the American Ad Federation Ad Person of the Year, and has received the AASHTO Excel Award and PRSA Community Relations Award. He attended the University of Pennsylvania.
Our Services
Just as no two communities are alike, no two plans for prosperity are the same. At Municipal Prosperity Group, we apply our decades of experience to create market-tested strategic plans and tactics that:
Support your local business community’s growth
Support entrepreneurs and micro businesses
Develop visitor amenities to generate tourism
Develop partnerships and recruit local leadership
Tell a credible story
Build community support for your efforts
Ensure that minority and woman owned businesses succeed