No small promise

State Treasurer Tim Cahill, Independent candidate for Governor, pledged his strong support of small businesses during an appearance at the Winthrop Chamber of Commerce monthly breakfast meeting Tuesday at the Lodge of Elks.

“At the end of the day, this economy is made up of 95 percent small businesses and why we’re not focused on that and why we’re not united as a group, is why we don’t have the power,” said Cahill, who once operated a small business and served 15 years as a city councilor in Quincy.

Cahill said he wants to put the focus of state government back on small businesses. If he were elected, he said he would start a tax-free incentive program specifically targeted to help first-time business owners.

Cahill also said that if he were elected governor, he would immediately enact Senate President Therese Murray and Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo’s plan to build three casinos and open two racinos (slot machines at racetracks) in the state.

“I believe expanded gambling is a reasonable path for Massachusetts,” said Cahill. “It will bring in revenue for cities and towns. It will create jobs. And we’ll be looking at entities that want to invest millions of dollars in the state. I believe I can make it work because I’ve run the biggest gaming operation in state government for the last seven years, the Massachusetts State Lottery.”

Though Cahill made a very favorable impression on Winthrop Chamber members at the breakfast and his television commercial featuring his four daughters has gained positive reviews, Cahill faces an uphill battle in the race for the corner office. He has consistently finished in third place in the polls behind Governor Deval Patrick and Republican candidate Charles Baker. Jill Stein is also a candidate for governor.