A strong small-business economy is fundamental to the well-being of every community. I support an economic development strategy that focuses on helping the people who are working to create and grow homegrown enterprises, because they are the backbone of our community. Locally owned businesses make Tallahassee special, and they keep our dollars at home. Growing our economy is priority one, and I promise to do everything possible to help our local businesses thrive and prosper.

I believe it’s important to have a commissioner who truly understands the needs of small businesses. I’ve been in business all my life, having owned a retail store, a sales agency and a consulting business. It’s a family tradition. I grew up working in my dad’s office and my children grew up working in mine. I’ve been there. I’ve felt the struggles. I know what it means to make payroll, how hard it is to weather the tough times. Through those experiences I learned how to do more with less. Here are a few things I will work on after I am elected to the City Commission.

• I will organize an all-inclusive small-business summit to ask business owners what they feel government can do to better support the local business sector, then work to advance their recommendations within city government.
• I will work to establish a small-business assistance center within city government to help entrepreneurs grow by providing technical assistance, such as guidance through the maze of applications, licensing, zoning, and permitting requirements.
• I will work to simplify complex licensing and permitting processes to accomplish meaningful reductions in the turnaround time for approvals, because small businesses too often can’t afford delays.
• I will work to expand the capacity of existing not-for-profit organizations, such as the Bethel Community Development Corporation and Capital Area Community Action Agency, to provide loans at reasonable rates to our small businesses.
• I will promote the establishment of a non-profit community lending institution to offer affordable financing to small-business owners who cannot obtain it through traditional means.

My philosophy for economic growth is to do everything we can to support the entrepreneurial spirit that already exists right here at home. It is essential that we save the jobs we have because small businesses have always led the country out of recession. Our small businesses are the backbone of our community and are our hope for today… and tomorrow.