Gov. Dan Malloy and the U.S. Labor Secretary toured sites in eastern Connecticut on Friday to see where some of the state’s efforts to improve workforce development and investments for small businesses have paid off.
U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, a member of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet, joined the governor alongside Congressman Joe Courtney, who is also in the middle of a reelection campaign.
“That toolbox didn’t exist before I became governor,” Malloy said, of the Small Business Express program, designed to provide working capital for small business growth.
“Connecticut had only invested in 119 companies over a period of nine years. Since I’ve been governor, we’ve invested in 1600," Malloy said. "Twelve-hundred of them [are] small businesses like this, with the Express Program.”
Perez pointed out that the Malloy administration has been a strong ally of Obama, supporting and pushing some of his top initiatives including raising the minimum wage.
“We have gridlock in Washington as a result of Speaker [John] Boehner’s refusal to bring it up for a vote, and so Gov. Malloy led on the minimum wage” said Perez.
Republican challenger Tom Foley campaigned in Enfield on Friday, according to a campaign spokesman, who issued the following respose to the visit from the Obama administration:
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“Dan Malloy can bring whoever he wants to Connecticut. It doesn't change the fact that he has a failed record of tax increases and 1 percent economic growth over three and a half years," the statement says.
Malloy will expect at least of pair of high profile visits over the next 10 days, including one from Obama and another from First Lady Michelle Obama.
