State Democrats push small-business agenda

CHESHIRE >> Without the help of a $65,000 small business loan from the State of Connecticut, Dana Bartone-Nastri never would have gotten her South Main Street hair salon in to its current location.

“I’d have really low ceilings in here if I hadn’t gotten that loan,” Bartone-Nastri said of the 245-year-old building that now houses her business. The loan enabled Bartone-Nastri and her husband David to convert the former real estate office into the salon she moved into in 2011.

Bartone-Nastri started the business out her Cheshire home in 1995.

Bartone-Nastri’s personal success story brought state House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz to her salon Thursday to promote plans of Democrats in the legislature for improving the state’s small business climate. Aresimowicz was joined by two area Democrats seeking to fill currently vacant House seats.

Cheshire Councilwoman Liz Linehan is facing Republican Andrew Falvey for the vacant 103rd District seat formerly held by Republican Al Adinolfi, who retired at the end of the last legislative session. Also on hand was Wallingford Board of Education Member Patrick Reynolds, who is facing Republican Craig Fishbein to represent the 90th House District.

That seat formerly was held by Democrat Mary Fritz, who died earlier this year.

Aresimowicz said House Democrats have a multi-step plan to help owners of existing small businesses as well as help create new ones. The plan calls for:

• Creating a one-stop, tollfree number to provide entrepreneurs with basic information that they might need about the state and it communities. • Starting an “angel investor” program specifically targeted at small businesses. The term angel investor usually refers to someone — usually friends or family of an entrepreneur — who put money into a company at more favorable terms compared to other lenders.

• Improve the accessibility of the existing state Small Business Express program.

• Develop a bulk purchasing pool for services and products used by small businesses.

• Reduce energy costs for small businesses.

• Increase investments in Connecticut’s vocational and technical high schools as well as its community colleges.

“Investing in small companies like this one gives us the most pride in the state of Connecticut,” Aresimowicz said. “I think a lot of the programs that we do in the state of Connecticut ... really restore the faith that the government is being responsive.”

Linehan said small businesses “are what makes this community great.”

“It’s very important that we listen to small-business owners, that we hear how we can do better for you,” she told Bartone-Nastri.

Reynolds call Connecticut’s small businesses “the backbone of communities like Wallingford and Cheshire.”

Falvey, Linehan’s opponent, said Democrats “have been traveling around the state masquerading this Halloween season as pro-business.”

Fishbein said Democratic lawmakers have had long enough to turn around the state’s economy.

“Now that we have good candidates running on the Republican side, the Democrats are scared,” he said.