State names new small business advocate
Secretary of State Matt Dunlap has hired a new small business advocate, replacing the first person hired to the post by outgoing Republican Secretary of State, Charlie Summers.
Peggy Schaffer, a former chief of staff for past Senate President Libby Mitchell and legislative liaison for the state's Department of Economic and Community Development, will now head the office created in 2011 to help businesses with fewer than 50 employees with their interactions with state government.
Summers, appointed Jay Martin as the state's first small business advocate just over a year ago.
In a press release, Dunlap said that Martin did "a great job of getting the ball rolling since the job was created."
Martin was paid $50,000 annually for the job; Dunlap said Schaffer will start at $60,000 based on her experience in other economic development roles, including eight years with the DECD.
"We feel pretty good that we have a skill set that will allow us to take this in places that maybe we haven't even anticipated yet," Dunlap told Mainebiz.
Dunlap told Mainebiz that the business advocate position will focus on assisting businesses with regulatory questions, speaking with high school and technical college students about business opportunities in the state and making suggestions to the state's Regulatory Fairness Board about changes that could simplify or ease businesses' regulatory requirements.
Schaffer has served a total of 14 years in state government, including the legislative and executive branches. During her time with the DECD, she worked on the creation of the Maine Rural Development Authority and the Maine Technology Institute. Most recently, she served as a political organizer for the Maine State Employees Association leading up to the 2012 elections, during which time she penned an opinion column for the Bangor Daily News about her personal struggles in Maine's job market.
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