Kellyanne Conway talks tax reform in Robbinsville
ROBBINSVILLE » Kellyanne Conway dished out tax reform at Papa’s Tomato Pies.
The counselor to President Donald Trump paid a visit to the Robbinsville eatery on Tuesday afternoon to meet with local business leaders and discuss her boss’s plan.
“Our small businesses across this country are the heart and soul of our economy,” said Conway, who got her start working in Mercer County politics. “The tax reform, the tax relief that the president was talking about for small businesses, for larger employees, for individual taxpayers in the middle class would bring much needed relief. We deserve a tax cut.”
Not only were attendees treated by Conway’s presence, but Vice President Mike Pence also talked to the dozen business owners via speaker phone, urging them to let their voices be heard on reforming the tax code.
“We are all working tirelessly to advance the president’s plan to pass the largest tax cut in American history and we’re working to pass it this year,” Pence said. “This businessman-turned president is also absolutely committed to making sure that we cut taxes on businesses — large and small —so that the job creators like all of you around the table today are going to have more resources to invest in creating more jobs, raising wages, growing investments and creating opportunities here in Trenton.”
Conway heard firsthand the struggles that some local businesses are facing.
Denise Hewitt, owner of Bohren’s Moving & Storage, said tax reform would put more money in employees’ pockets and allow her business to reinvest in equipment.
“We used to give raises every year. That was just standard — never thought twice about it,” said the fourth-generation business owner, who has more than 100 employees. “About 10 years ago, it’s turned into two, three, four years apart. We used to buy trucks and trailers every year like it was nothing as well. Now, we don’t do that much anymore. We’re just refurbing and doing all that kind of stuff to keep the costs down.”
Having less was a common theme among the Robbinsville biz owners.
Joe Clemente, owner of Dolce & Clemente’s, said he’s been on his own since 1998.
“When I go back and look, I’m making the same or less money annually as I did 12-to-15 years ago but I’m doing triple, quadruple, the amount of volume,” he said. “Hence, my workforce goes up, all my insurances go up. It’s just taking a massive cut of self small business, selfemployed people’s take-home money. That’s why I’d like to see tax reform in this country.” Conway responded that the administration hears “a lot about wage stagnation.” “Working just as hard and not making as much,” she said.
Chris Winter, owner of Winter Auto Repair, said he runs four businesses and works seven days a week “just to make ends meat.”
“It’s hard to give raises,” Winter said. “It’s hard to expand because we’re being squeezed so badly.”
Asked why she picked Robbinsville to spread the word of the president’s plan, Conway, a New Jersey resident, said she “knew the area.”
“We were looking for a true small business,” the president’s counselor said. “These folks in this restaurant and the owners of this restaurant are very indicative of people we see all across this country. I have no idea how they voted. I have no idea if they voted. I have no idea what their party affiliation is. I just know that they are enthusiastically in of a single mind in terms of a tax cut.”
Conway worked on campaigns for former Mercer County Executive Bob Prunetti early on in her career, before she became the first female campaign manager to win a presidential election.
“He was a client for a long time,” Conway reminisced, when a reporter referenced the former executive by name.
The atmosphere in Robbinsville for Conway was nothing but love. Onlookers asked to snap selfies with Conway.
Papa’s owner Nick Azzaro gushed that Conway is a “gorgeous woman” when Pence was on the phone.
But tax reform was mostly on Conway’s mind.
She delved into the president’s key talking points: giving a tax cut to the middle class, reducing the corporate tax to 20 percent and creating a simpler system where nine out of 10 Americans could file their taxes on one sheet of paper.
“That room is filled with optimism about a tax cut for individuals and small business owners,” Conway said after meeting with the owners for approximately one hour. “They don’t just want to survive. They want to pass the wealth and they want to give back to their communities.”
Robbinsville Mayor Dave Fried, who was also in attendance, remarked on the “fantastic event for small business owners.”
“We were able to talk about tax reform and here what the needs are for small business owner and making business more affordable and making our country more affordable for small employers and for those who really need some help,” the Republican mayor said.