Lodi’s Downtown Business Alliance gets new president

Over the past four months, Lodian David Claxton has been settling into his new role as president of the Downtown Business Alliance, a group of local business owners founded in 2016 to represent their businesses to community leaders.

“I love it,” Claxton said. “It’s a great little organization, and it’s great to be able to promote the downtown business area.”

The DBA has grown to approximately 100 members since Claxton stepped in as president, he said, and he is currently working on getting the group’s new website up and running, along with expanding its social media presence.

“We’ve kind of been on a tear the last few months, recruiting new members,” Claxton said.

DBA board member Dave Kirsten, who helped lead the recruiting push, said the group has had approximately 50 new members in the last two months, many of them wine tasting rooms or retail shops.

“It wasn’t really that hard,” Kirsten said. “It’s just a matter of making people aware that we exist and that we want to help improve the downtown area, and I don’t think anybody is opposed to that.”

Kirsten plans to continue his recruiting drive, he said, hoping to encourage more of the approximately 140 businesses in the downtown area to join the DBA.

“We have 100 members currently, with several more pending,” Kirsten said. “I suspect we’ll get up to 120 by the first of the year.”

Other DBA projects include their Safe Halloween Program, Claxton said, where children can trick or treat at various Downtown Lodi Businesses from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday as well as working with the City of Lodi to change the lights on the Lodi Arch for the fall and upcoming holiday seasons.

Kirsten applauded Claxton on the work he has done as president so far, saying Claxton seems quite comfortable with his new responsibilities.

“Membership has doubled since he took over, and he’s rolled out a robust social media campaign,” Kirsten said. “I just really like the direction of the Downtown Business Alliance.”

Former DBA president John Della Monica also praised Claxton.

“He’s doing an amazing job,” Della Monica said. “I’m still on the board, but he’s doing an amazing job as president.”