The painter and the local pizza parlor have a new voice in the Legislature. But do they need one?<\/p>\n
Former Republican state Sen. Bob Clegg, of Hudson, a lobbyist for the company Legislative Solutions, recently founded the Small Business and Small Industry Association.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s designed to have a voice in Concord for all the small businesses that now don\u2019t seem to have anyone to speak for them,\u201d Clegg said.<\/p>\n
But business advocates say Clegg\u2019s organization is trying to fill a nonexistent need.
\n\u201cThe small-business community is very effectively represented by the Business and Industry Association, local chambers of commerce, trade associations around state,\u201d said Business and Industry Association President Jim Roche.<\/p>\n
Clegg said the Small Business and Small Industry Association is not meant to compete with the Business and Industry Association, because they serve different types of businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t represent Liberty Mutual and Bob\u2019s Painting Contractors, because their interests are not the same,\u201d Clegg said.<\/p>\n