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“There has not been a consistent message or theme,” House Majority Leader J. Brendan Sharkey, D-88 Hamden, said adding that the state has had a “haphazard approach” when it came to handling businesses.
He added that the Gov. Dannel Malloy has improved the state’s relationship with businesses and is hearing positive results. Prior to Malloy there was no job growth and it was a problem that was not going to be fixed overnight, Sharkey said.
“If you are going to be open for business then you have to understand business,” House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk and New Canaan, said. He explained that a year ago today there were 51,000 more people working in the state, and the legislative will say they like business then will do something that proves otherwise.
State Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-28 Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, Weston, and Westport, said that the state needs to level the playing field for small businesses and not just help larger companies. He specifically spoke out against the tax breaks and state help Bridgewater Associates would receive to move from Westport to Stamford.
Senate President Pro Tempore Don Williams, D-29 Brooklyn, Canterbury, Killingly, Mansfield, Putnam, Scotland, Thompson & Windham, was also invited to the event, however could not make it because of the snow.
Tuesday’s breakfast meeting was the first the Business Council will hold this year under the title “Democracy Works,” which will raise voter awareness, especially when it comes to Malloy’s proposed spending plan.
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