Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz gave Milwaukee Mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett a tour of local Madison businesses Tuesday, with hopes of giving him a closer look at what it means to be a small business owner.
Barrett said it is the small businesses that run the state’s economy, and his campaign plans to focus on small businesses and small business owners.
“I want a closer look into the small business of our state, especially in a city where the economic downturn hasn’t hit so hard,” Barrett said to Carol Schroeder, owner of Orange Tree Imports on Monroe Street. “Ninety-eight percent of employers are small business owners, and local government is a good partner.”
Orange Tree Imports was just the first stop on the tour, with Cieslewicz taking a small pause to purchase some chocolate from the store. Schroeder, who majored in Scandinavian studies, began the Scandinavian import store in Madison over 30 years ago and has now tripled her business size and has about 30 employees.
“I love hearing stories about how people are living their dreams,” Barrett said. “Although no part of the state has been untouched by the economic downturn, Madison is doing better than most parts of the state.”
He also commented on Madison’s relatively low unemployment rate, which remains at 5.1 percent.
Cieslewicz and Barrett’s next stop was J. Kinney Florist, which reported struggling for the past five years and currently has three employees. Barrett said he is sad to hear a business is struggling in one of the state’s most financially stable cities.
The last stop was Trader Joe’s, which has been doing very well since its establishment opened four years ago and now employs 63 people.
The tour was part of a series of small business tours Barrett has been conducting during his campaign, which he claims will give him a closer focus on small businesses in Wisconsin and will hopefully aid in his promises for job creation.
“We lost about 180,000 jobs between 2007 and 2009 and currently are creating roughly 2,000 jobs per month. We have to move the economy forward,” Barrett said in a press conference outside of Trader Joe’s.
Some of his plans for job creation within the state include tax cuts for job creation, less state government regulation on small businesses and maintenance of good dialogue and communication with the small businesses. He also wants to give state agencies the tools to help grow businesses.
Scott Walker, Milwaukee county executive and Republican candidate for governor, released a statement Tuesday saying Barrett’s plan is “yet another example of wasting our taxpayer money and looking to government to create jobs. … I believe the people and employers of Wisconsin WILL create 250,000 jobs when we fundamentally change the way government does business by lowering the tax burden and easing regulations on everyone.”
Walker’s six-point plan to create jobs in Wisconsin includes lower taxes, less regulations, ending frivolous lawsuits, better education, improved health care and stronger infrastructure.
