Local Merchants Hope GOP Helps Small Businesses

As Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made a stop in Dunedin on Monday afternoon, area business owners expressed their opinions about what the next president needs to do to improve the economy.

According to the majority of merchants questioned, the main problems affecting small businesses are the overabundance of government regulations and the lack of confidence consumers have in the economy.

"People need jobs. We need less government intervention, and bring it back to the people. The less the government gets involved, the better," Mike Rey, owner of , said before Romney's appearance at Pioneer Park.

"Consumer confidence is down. Hopefully whoever gets in there will do what they actually say they're going to do for a change," Rey said.

Trina Cooney, owner of , believes there are too many restrictions placed on small businesses, including taxes, fees, codes and laws.

"The city needs to relax some of the strict codes and laws that are hampering small business growth," she said. "The next president would have to give us tax breaks for small businesses to grow ... but change needs to come from local government."

John Fallin and JoAnna Greene, who opened off Main Street two months ago, are pleased with how Dunedin treats small business owners, but they also agree that big government needs to take a step back.

"Government is too large. They need to streamline the process to make it easier to open a small business," Fallin said. "Agencies need to do a quick, easy analysis of the potential business, not a long, drawn-out process."

"Government needs to get back to the idea of serving the people, not the other way around," Greene added.

"I like Romney, though," Fallin went on to say. "He's got a business background, so maybe he'll do some good things for business owners."