Flickr photo via Angela N.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn gushed at a ceremony last month in welcoming Facebook and its new engineering office to the city. But there's another way to fuel tech jobs, and it doesn't require importing Silicon Valley giants. Could the City of Seattle simply bankroll some of the startups in its own backyard?

That's the interesting approach that Portland and New York City are taking, both which have announced small angel investment funds in recent months. Of course, the idea of having a government agency participating in startup creation will send shudders up the spines of libertarians. And many venture capitalists have argued over the years that the approach is misguided.

Nonetheless, cities are doing all they can to spur entrepreneurial activity, which leads to today's poll question:

The approach of Portland and New York is rather interesting as both are working with established investment professionals.

The Portland Development Commission this week named five business leaders to oversee the $500,000 fund, including Michael Powell of Powells Books, Brent Bullock of Perkins Coie and Diane Fraiman of Voyager Capital. But The Oregonian's Mike Rogoway reports on some of the pitfalls and challenges the fund has already faced during its four month history.

Meanwhile, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg -- who knows a thing or two about entrepreneurial ventures --recently committed $3 million to a $22 million fund for early-stage companies in the city. The fund is being managed by FirstMark Capital and the New York City Economic Development Corporation, with Alley Insider noting that the city has the right to veto any investments.

Closer to home, the structure of Washington state's $350 million Life Sciences Discovery Fund has been questioned by some biotech and political leaders, with noted research scientist Leroy Hood saying in 2007 that the LSDF has "made every single wrong decision a fund can make."

It is interesting to watch cities scramble to attract the best and brightest entrepreneurs who one day could be the next Bill Gates or Sergey Brin. But you've got to wonder if this strategy will pay dividends or not.

[Flickr photo via Angela N.]