Businesses casting ballot for optimism

Local businesses both small and large sound mostly pleased with outcomes in Tuesday's election.

Consider small-business owner Dale Amos.

Amos owns Star Loan Centers, a short-term payday and title lender with three employees. Amos said Wednesday that he's happy Republican Brian Sandoval won the governor's race, because he expects Sandoval to bring a renewed emphasis on smaller companies.

"As far as (current Gov. Jim) Gibbons goes, he came in and did nothing for the state," Amos said. "I think Sandoval will bring about the change we need. Casinos run this town, but small businesses need help too, because they're a big piece of the economy. Hopefully, they won't raise any of our taxes, and we can get back to hiring."

Officials with local power utility NV Energy also said they were satisfied with Tuesday's outcome. The company didn't cite specific races they were watching, but re-elected Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., worked with the utility to bring federal backing to loans for its $510 million One Nevada transmission line, which will link NV Energy's southern and northern grids and connect it to green power generated in rural areas. Reid also helped secure nearly $140 million in stimulus funds for NV Energize, a smart-grid project designed to save on operating costs and promote power conservation.

"We were pleased with the results of the election and look forward to working with local, state and federal delegations to develop Nevada's unique renewable energy resources to meet the needs of our customers," said Tony Sanchez, NV Energy's senior vice president of government and community strategy.

Klif Andrews, president of the Nevada division of Pardee Homes, also sounded a positive note.

"Re-electing Sen. Harry Reid shows real stability for Nevada," Andrews said. "I believe that Sen. Reid has been good for Nevada by helping to bring in funding for infrastructure for roads and highways, as well as by paving the way for a green-energy industry that promises to help diversify our economy. His re-election gives confidence to others to invest in Nevada and that is good for all Nevada businesses."

Other professionals were a little less enthusiastic about the election in general.

Local property manager Frank Gatski said he tuned out the election season somewhat because he lacks faith in government.

"In my opinion, for several years to come, I'm on my own in business and don't expect government to help me in any way," said Gatski, chief executive officer of Gatski Commercial Real Estate Services. "Actually, to the contrary, I feel that everything they do is going to make it more difficult for small business, not necessarily through their own fault, but mainly due to the circumstances they face in our economy."

Gatski said he'll focus on motivating his employees to give the best possible service and keeping his operations lean to "weather the storm."

Business-trade groups seemed mostly pleased with the results Wednesday.

Rick Smith, chairman of the Henderson Chamber of Commerce's IMPAC political-action committee, noted that more than 75 percent of the candidates the group supported won their races. The chamber doesn't wade into federal races, but it endorsed Sandoval for governor and made selections in state legislative races.

The chamber wanted to see a "very strong pro-business statement" in the election, and it appears that message went out, Smith said.

"Our expectation will be for fiscal restraint, particularly with respect to proposed taxes on small businesses," Smith said. "We strongly feel that such taxes would be burdensome at a time when small businesses are already stretched beyond belief."

For the Nevada Association of Realtors, the election's results provided fresh hope for new policies that will turn around the Silver State's housing market.

Of the 55 candidates the association endorsed, 52, or 95 percent, won their race, including Reid and Sandoval. Association President Linda Rheinberger said Reid in particular has a "perfect record" on issues that affect Realtors and homebuyers, such as extending the April deadline on the federal home-purchasing tax credit -- a move that generated more than 5,000 additional home sales in the state.

"We feel these election results are going to help propel us even further," Rheinberger said. "We're very hopeful there will be a big difference."

Over at the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, hope reigned as well. A full 92 percent of the candidates the group endorsed, including Sandoval, won Tuesday. Chamber executives look forward to working with all of the winners in coming months, said Veronica Meter, the group's vice president of government affairs.

"It's going to be very important for the small-business community and elected officials to work together to solve our state's problems and create jobs," Meter said.

Any discussion about state taxes should happen only in concert with talk of related fiscal issues, including examining expenditures and considering public-sector pay reforms, Meter said. In the 2009 state legislative session, the chamber championed and won several changes to public workers' compensation, including increased penalties for early retirement. Executives would like to add to those reforms in the 2011 session, Meter said.

Despite the overall optimism, two new national surveys reflected uncertainty among business owners and executives, and some local entrepreneurs said even the election's outcome hasn't completely restored their confidence.

First, national employment agency Administaff reported on Monday that just 21 percent of U.S. small-business owners expect the economy to recover by mid-2011. The rest either anticipate renewal in late 2011, or won't even hazard a guess on when the economy might revive.

And the PNC Economic Outlook reported in late October that 63 percent of business owners plan to increase capital investments in areas such as technology in the next six months, while just a fifth of them expect to hire through the first quarter. Top among their concerns: Slumping sales and changes in federal policies, particularly in health-insurance reform.

Amos said his business suffered in the recession as loan defaults increased and his lending guidelines tightened. Even with the election's results, he said he'll stay in a "holding pattern" until he figures out what kinds of regulations federal and state lawmakers will actually write. He also wants to see how the federal financial-reform bill will affect Star Loan Centers. He does plan to add a branch sometime in 2011, but many of his business friends "are just not going to hire anybody," he said.

"They will work their people harder and longer and more efficiently, and they'll cut costs, or maybe get more efficient through technology," he said.

Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at
jrobison@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512.