Saturday, June 13th, Congresswoman Debby Halvorson stopped by the tourism center to talk about and to small businesses and hear their concerns. It was unfortunate that the turnout was not as large as expected. The Congresswoman was apologetic for asking us to take part of a beautiful Saturday afternoon and spend it with her but I was a bit surprised that more local businesses did not take what I thought was an excellent opportunity to dialogue with someone from Washington D.C. who might be able to make a difference.
I did see Ray Andres from the Uptown Grill and Sharon Wagenknecht from the Carus mansion but the others there represented Utica businesses for the most part.
Anna Koval, as our hostess at the tourism center, was in attendance and had several questions for Ms. Halvorson. The balance of the 20 or so gathered there were made up of mostly other public officials. Mayor Grove was joined by Aldermen Green, Laverie,Salazar and myself. Spring Valley was represented by their economic director, Deb Ladzinski.
Representative Halvorson informed us that she was on three committees including small businesses, veteran affairs, and I believe transportation.
It was the small businesses that she focused on Saturday , looking for feedback and requests from those in attendance, as to what their biggest concerns were. It was a shame more didn’t attend and take advantage of having the “congresswoman’s ear” for the afternoon.
We did hear of possible tax changes regarding small businesses and the time spent on filling out and filing all the paperwork necessary to comply with the IRS demands.
I had a chance to speak personally with Debbie and her husband after the event and I found the two to be very involved and concerned with the district that they serve. It helps a great deal that Debbie was a state senator for twelve years prior to taking over Jerry Weller’s seat in DC. They are definitely a team and are results orientated. It was refreshing to hear that just being concerned and trying for an answer were not good enough for these two. Although Ms. Halvorson has regional directors assisting her its always nicer to talk to our DC rep face to face.
I am sure all of us in attendance came away with the same feeling that this is a person who can identify with small town America and understands the issues we face and the frustration we feel at times with our government.
Thank you Congresswoman Halvorson for taking some of your time to spend with us on such a great Saturday afternoon!
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