Legislators at ERC5 breakfast warn of ‘choppier’ waters aheadDate: 2/14/2024 LONGMEADOW — Three state representatives and a state senator all had the same message for the people attending the Government Breakfast Reception and Awards meeting of the East of the River Chamber of Commerce: communicate with us.
State Sen. Jake Oliveira (D-Ludlow) and state Reps. Angelo Puppolo (D-Springfield), Aaron Saunders (D-Belchertown) and Brian Ashe (D-Longmeadow) all said that in light of the Legislature working on the fiscal year 2025 budget with a recently revealed revenue shortfall, now it the time for the business community to work with the Western Massachusetts legislative delegation.
The remarks were made on Feb. 7 at the Twin Hills Country Club. East of the River Chamber of Commerce represents businesses in East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, Ludlow, Wilbraham and Hampden.
Olivera reminded the audience the entire Western Massachusetts delegation is smaller than just the delegation representing Boston. Ashe said, “We struggle to fight for what we need to get.”
“All of us want to hear from you,” he added.
Puppolo recognized some of the pressures facing small business. “it’s tough to get employees,” he said. He added, though, there is no substitution for how customers are treated by small business “to walk into a store and get front-line service.”
He added, “We’ve got some struggles coming up.” He explained the FY25 budget is affected by a revenue decline in the commonwealth and Gov. Maura Healey has made mid-budget 9C cuts which, he said, “is never a good thing.”
Saunders said, “We’re running into some choppier waters which only increases the importance of hearing from constituents, especially the business community.”
He added that recruitment and retention are big issues businesses in Massachusetts face.
The delegation honored two business people: Grace Dias, the founder of the Michael J. Dias Foundation and Tony Tavares, the owner of Villa Rose Restaurant. Dias explained she started the nonprofit after the death of her son Michael from drug addiction. The organization maintain three houses for men addressing their addiction and making the transition to sobriety.
Tavares was honored for his work with area nonprofits. Tavares will donate a percentage of an evening dinner service to local organizations.
Oliveira said both are examples of “people who give back to our communities,”
Both Tavares and Dias are immigrants and the importance of immigrants to Massachusetts was underscored by Ariana Moir, education program manager at the Immigrant Learning Center in Malden. Moir said that nationally the foreign-born American make up 13.7% of the population, while in Massachusetts it is 17.6%. Twenty-eight percent of the “main street businesses” in the country were founded by immigrants.
The next event hosted by the chamber will be the “Feast of the Eat,” on April 30 at The Starting Gate in Wilbraham. Details can be found at https://business.erc5.com/events.
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