Anthony D’Ambrosio Tours District to Support Small Businesses

Special to the Transcript

Anthony D’Ambrosio, Candidate for State Senate, visited various stores throughout the 1st Suffolk and Middlesex District this weekend as the holiday season officially kicked off.

Shopping at small businesses throughout our district is critical to our economy, especially as many of them continue to face uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic. These businesses are the ones we turn to to support our community. From youth sports sponsorships to donations for families in need, they are the backbone of our local economy and the souls of our community.

While mega-monopolies like Amazon have thrived during COVID-19 and increased their value by tens of billions of dollars, the small businesses we support throughout our community continue to struggle. Unfortunately, yet predictably, Beacon Hill has failed these businesses, the owners and employees. As we speak, legislators have gone home for the year with no chance of passing legislation to spend the influx of funding that has been received from the Federal Government.

This recent headline from the Boston Globe says it all:

“An epic failure on Beacon Hill; Lawmakers dawdled over ARPA funds, delaying economic relief to millions of their constituents.”

An epic failure it is. It is unconscionable that this critical funding could be left languishing by politicians who haven’t missed a paycheck, had to worry about food insecurity, the closing of their business or the loss of life savings while struggling to make it through. While many of these same politicians will take part in Small Business Saturday with a photo op, they have failed their constituents who are in desperate need of help.

We have to ask ourselves, “How is it possible that Beacon Hill has somehow become more broken that Washington D.C.?” We can and must do better. I come from a family of small business owners and have witnessed the endless generosity of many others in my role as a Revere School Committee member. I will never forget them as a State Senator.

I ask you to join me as we fight for a Beacon Hill that works for everyone!