Peters talks small business, entrepreneurship with community leaders

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Gary Peters swung through Marquette this morning as part of his U.P. tour.

He sat down for a roundtable discussion at Donckers with small business owners and entrepreneurial leaders. They discussed successes, ideas and concerns for small businesses in Marquette and heard what he hopes to achieve should he succeed in the upcoming election.

“My focus has always been lending, to make sure money is available to help small businesses,” Peters said. “That’s why I authored the state’s Small Business Credit Initiative. My program has already been credited with saving or creating over 6,000 jobs here in the state of Michigan; over 50,000 jobs across the country. In the U.S. Senate I’m hoping to expand that program even further. I’m confident it’ll help the entrepreneurs that I talked to today and other entrepreneurs across the Upper Peninsula get the financing they need to be successful.”

Peters discussed the impact small businesses have on communities like Marquette and others across the U.P. and the state. He placed emphasis on the importance of listening to community members on tours like these.

In the afternoon, Peters attended senior citizens and veterans at Bay College in Escanaba to talk about Medicare and social security.

“I will fight to make sure we keep Medicare strong,” Peters said. “My mother is on Medicare. I can’t imagine what it would be like without it, for her, so I take this very personally, like everybody. We’ve got to make sure that we stay strong.”

Peters has visited the U.P. twice before, hearing from the region’s myriad communities.