Bloomfield, NJ — [August 28, 2025] — Mikie Sherrill hit the road yesterday on her Save You Time and Money Agenda Tour, meeting with business owners across New Jersey to highlight her plan to make government more efficient and affordable for residents and businesses. The tour included stops in Edison, Clarksboro, and Haddonfield, where Sherrill outlined her proposals to cut red tape, lower costs, and create a culture of accountability in Trenton.
“For too long, Trenton has been plagued by a culture of ‘no,’ rather than getting to ‘yes,’” Sherrill said during her visits. “As governor, I will drive a culture shift in Trenton, putting customer service, transparency, and accountability front and center at all of our state agencies. From Day One, I will be laser focused on lowering costs, creating good-paying jobs, and helping businesses grow. New Jersey has a long history of leading the way in innovation and entrepreneurship. But Jack Ciattarelli and his running mate Donald Trump are threatening that proud legacy with their unaffordable tariffs, taxes, and price hike bill. While Jack refuses to stand up for New Jersey, I will fight hard to deliver for you.”
Business owners voiced support for Sherrill’s proposals, pointing to the impact tariffs and bureaucratic delays have had on their operations. Raj Patel, co-owner of Patel Brothers grocery store, said tariffs were already driving up prices for everyday goods. “Donald Trump’s tariffs are forcing our customers to pay more on everything from vegetables to spices to snacks. And now, he’s targeting the Indian community, putting extra tariffs on products from India. Mikie Sherrill has a plan to help us lower costs, make it easier to expand our store, and hire more staff. We need a governor who will stand up for our store and our customers — not help Trump make things more expensive,” Patel said.
Other small business leaders echoed those concerns. “Running a small business is extremely challenging right now, especially in New Jersey. Tariffs and market uncertainty are now forcing us to raise prices. The mainland United States does not have the climate to grow green coffee beans, so roasters have no option but to import it from other countries, who are now facing huge tariffs, due to politics, not economics. As a result, we now pay an additional $3,000–$5,000 for our coffee beans every month! On top of that, on the brewery side, it is extremely complicated to get permits to do anything in this state — for example, it takes weeks and tons of paperwork to host a charitable event or to partner with a neighboring small business. At a time when tariffs are costing me thousands of extra dollars and Trenton isn’t working, Mikie’s plan to lower costs and cut red tape will save us money and improve our bottom line,” said Charles Garrity, founder and president of Death of the Fox Brewing.
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Julie Beddingfield, owner of Inkwood Books, shared her own struggles with navigating local permitting systems. “As a small business owner, I know how much blood, sweat, and tears go into keeping a shop open — it’s time we had a Governor who made it just a little bit easier to keep the lights on. When I opened my bookstore, it took me three months just to get a permit for a sign. I didn’t know how the local permitting laws worked or the steps for opening a business — all I had was a dream. If I could’ve had a checklist of all the requirements, the order in which they had to be done, and a little bit of help it would’ve saved me hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars and helped me open my doors sooner. Mikie’s Save You Time and Money Agenda will do just that and help every new business owner in New Jersey avoid the nightmare I went through,” she said.
Through her tour, Sherrill emphasized her commitment to ensuring that small businesses thrive by reducing costs, streamlining processes, and fighting against tariffs and policies she argues burden New Jersey families and entrepreneurs.