Former Congressman Simmons Advocates for Connecticut's Businesses

Former Congressman Rob Simmons, the state business advocate, spoke yesterday in Torrington at the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce. Simmons was nominated by Governor Jodi Rell in February to criss-cross Connecticut advocating for small businesses and helping them cut thru unnecessary red tape.

According to the governors office “The Business Advocate will be responsible for providing information on public and private programs to assist businesses, and for targeting specific small and micro businesses for growth and providing them with programs, services, technical assistance, job training and financial assistance.”¹

Simmons has already been hitting the ground running under the new position, which he was confirmed back in April.

According to The Register Citizen, Simmons told the Torrington Crowd “the state has to come to grips with certain fundamental facts. According to a Forbes survey, the state is ranked 28th overall in business, he said. The state is fourth in quality of life, eighth in labor force, but a staggering 43rd in business costs and regulatory environment, a measure of how much the government gets involved in issues and how much it regulates.
"When it comes to the regulatory environment, if we can't change that, we're cooked," Simmons said.”²

Simmons served 10 years in the Connecticut General Assembly before being elected to the U.S. Congress in 2000. In Congress, Simmons served 6 years and was highly regarded for his independence and willingness to put “principle over politics.”

1: http://www.ct.gov/governorrell/site/default.asp
2: http://www.registercitizen.com/