At roundtable, Sherrill pushes efforts to help small businesses

Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Thursday took her “Saving You Time and Money” tour to Trenton, speaking with elected officials and business operators about permitting and business opportunities.

Sherrill hosted a roundtable in Trenton at the future location of Rojo’s Roastery & The Gingered Peach, a coffee and baked goods shop combining two Central Jersey brands. The roundtable focused on easing the barrier of entry for minority- and women-owned businesses.

“We’re committed to making New Jersey the best place to start and grow a business — including for minority and women entrepreneurs where longstanding disparities have deprived them of critical opportunities,” Sherrill said.

The roundtable featured Chief Operating Officer Kellie Doucette, state Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz, Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-Trenton), and Trenton Councilmember Yazminelly Gonzalez.

Joanne Canady-Brown, the founder of the Gingered Peach bakery and owner of the under-construction Rojo’s-Gingered Peach location, said the permitting costs to open the new location neared $17,000.

“There can be this financial barrier to entry that [prevents] new entrepreneurs to even get their feet wet in the space,” she said.

Sherrill said the team at the Business Action Center, a state agency, is working to remove those boundaries and make the process clearer. Doucette, for example, said state agencies must provide a permanent catalog of the permits they require by April 20th.

“In too many cases, I was hearing throughout my campaign that there were all these different programs, but if you didn’t get to the right person, you might not be told about them,” Sherrill told reporters. “So at the Business Action Center, I want to make sure there’s no wrong door.”

Speaking to reporters, Sherrill also disavowed President Donald Trump’s attempts to increase his administration’s influence and oversight over elections, saying she will challenge his efforts.

“Not every governor is standing up to the president, not every governor is protecting the vote in their state, and so I do worry elsewhere, but I can assure people here in New Jersey, we are going to run a safe and fair election,” she said.