Sen. Kyrillos Visits Building Materials Company on Route 34 to Kick Off Statewide Jobs Tour

State Sen. Joe Kyrillos (R-Monmouth), who is seeking election to the U.S. Senate, began a statewide jobs tour Monday at OEG Building Materials, an Old Bridge based company that produces steel beams and employs about forty people.

The goal of the tour, Kyrillos said, is to help him develop a detailed jobs plan that incorporates the perspective of the local business owner.

"I want to come up with a comprehensive jobs plan," he said. "I don't want it to be one that is a compilation of press releases and political rhetoric, but something that really can be a strong blue print for the next president, whoever he is, and the next Congress, to get the country moving again."

Kyrillos sat down and spoke with OEG general manager Salvatore Sammartano, CFO Joe Weiss, and plant supervisor Yankee Eigner about the obstacles they face running a small business. Workers were busy stamping, cutting and forming the steel while OEG management, Kyrillos, State Sen. Samuel Thompson (R-Monmouth) and Old Bridge Mayor Owen Henry toured the small plant on Route 34.

Kyrillos contended that tax regulations, Obamacare, restricted flow of capital, and a lack of action in Washington, D.C. are the major contributers to the struggling economy that in turn prevent small businesses from growing. 

"I am running for the U.S. Senate to bring the same kinds of reforms we have instituted here in New Jersey to Washington, to reduce burdensome regulations and change the tax code so businesses like OEG can thrive in the global marketplace," he said. "You would think after forty months of 8.5 plus unemployment, that we would try things a little bit differently. But it hasn't happened."

Kyrillos said the country must focus on reform that works rather than arguing across party lines.

"It's not about ideologies or philosophies, it's about practicality. What can work, not what reads well in an essay or an op. ed. column or in a press release," he said.

Kyrillos is expected to release a copy of his plan at the end of his tour. His second stop is scheduled for Friday, June 15 in Bergen County

What do you think would help small businesses thrive? Do you agree with Kyrillos' views? Tell us in the comments below.