BUSH, KERRY Business leaders are split

Most national polls show the president is favored by small-business owners.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Rick Jugenheimer, president of a Hubbard wholesale equipment distributor, said tax breaks given to small businesses by President Bush helped increase his company's bottom line this year.
Most of the 15-percent increase in profit from last year to this year for Jugenheimer Industrial Supply, a 28-year-old company that employs 26 people, was directly reinvested back into the business, he said.
Jugenheimer, a registered Democrat who voted for Bush in 2000, plans to do the same in November.
"He's given tax breaks to small-business people," he said of Bush. "We've seen a benefit from his tax cuts. It allowed us to purchase new equipment. The money went into our pocket, and then it was reinvested. If you don't make a profit, you can't help your employees."
Jugenheimer's comments are similar to several other Mahoning Valley small-business owners and executives interviewed by The Vindicator about their thoughts on the presidential election. The business officials also were asked for whom they plan to vote and why, and who, between Bush and Democratic nominee John Kerry, would better serve their professional interests.
Jugenheimer's comments are also reflective of small-business owners nationwide. Most national polls of small-business owners show Bush with a comfortable double-digit lead over Kerry.
Supporting Kerry
That doesn't mean all Mahoning Valley small-business officials are in Bush's corner.
Maria Ciletti, administrator of Michael T. Ciletti M.D.'s medical practice in Niles, said Bush has largely ignored the problem of medical malpractice.
Ciletti said she and her brother had to lay off two of their 10 employees recently because their medical malpractice premiums increased by 100 percent in one year. She plans to vote for Kerry in November.
"Kerry has made health care one of his top priorities," she said. "Mr. Kerry has a little more on the ball than Mr. Bush."
A Democrat who voted for Al Gore in 2000, Ciletti said she was willing to give Bush a chance.
"But I'm not impressed with what he's done, and there needs to be a change," she said. "I don't think Bush is doing anything to help small business."
Among Kerry's ideas to help small businesses is to provide affordable health care by having the federal government help out with certain high-cost health cases. The money saved could be used by companies to expand and create jobs.
Supporting Bush
Brian and Alex Benyo, owners of Brilex Industries, an industrial machine manufacturer in Youngstown that employs 60 people, are firmly in Bush's corner.
The brothers, registered Republicans, specifically point to Bush's plan that permits businesses to immediately expense, rather than depreciate over time, the purchase of new equipment, as well as the president's tax cuts, as reasons their company is succeeding.
"The action he took to reverse the downturn of the economy, including his aggressive tax cuts and incentives to small businesses, enticed us to reinvest money into our business," said Brian Benyo, the company's president. "We've moved forward with more than $2 million in investments because of it. If we didn't have those tax credits, we wouldn't have the money to create jobs."
The company added 10 employees this year, directly related to Bush's tax plan for small businesses, Alex Benyo said.
"We've been able to use that to increase employment," he said. "The tax cuts reduced our tax burden. We were able to keep the cash in the company and reinvest it."
Keeping mum
Unlike the Benyos and Jugenheimer, a number of local small-business owners contacted by The Vindicator declined to discuss their thoughts on the presidential races.
In most cases the owners said they were Republicans, concerned that their comments in the newspaper would hurt their business. Mahoning and Trumbull are two of the most Democratic counties in Ohio.
Michael J. Kovach, president of City Machine Technologies Inc., isn't a local business owner shy about his support of Bush. CMT is a Youngstown company that rebuilds and repairs industrial equipment and employs 75 workers.
Kovach, a registered Republican, is a strong Bush backer. Kovach met Bush in April 2003, when the president delivered a speech in Canton. Bush cited Kovach as a business owner who benefited from his tax plan at the speech and then a few days later on the president's weekly radio address.
"We were going through a tough time before the president's tax plan was implemented," Kovach said. "The economy needed a spark plug, and he gave it. We closed out our year the best year ever. We've purchased more equipment and hired more people. If Kerry was elected, this would come to a grinding halt."
However, Carol Jean Hirt, vice president of Materials Research Laboratories, a Struthers company that analyzes pharmaceutical materials, said she thinks the president is no friend of small business.
"We've seen a negative impact since Bush came aboard," said Hirt, a registered Democrat. "Businesses that use our services have had to cut back and slash their budgets. I like Kerry because of the positive attitude he has. Kerry is concerned about small businesses. The optimism is there as well. If you want someone who will pump up the country and be positive, that's Kerry."
Weak stances
Tom Bray, who co-owns Tom Automotive in Hubbard and is a registered Republican, said he plans to vote for Bush, as he did in 2000. But he's not terribly enthusiastic about his choice. Bray doesn't agree with Bush's handling of Iraq and his opposition to stem cell research.
"But Kerry is too liberal for the country," said Bray, whose business employs 26 people. "We didn't make money when Clinton was in office. We prospered under Reagan and Bush."
Gordon Williams, a partner in the Anness, Gerlach and Williams certified public accountants firm in Boardman is a registered Republican who voted for Bush in 2000.
As an accountant, Williams said he hasn't seen a direct impact on small businesses from Bush's tax cut plan.
"I'm not enamored with either candidate," he said. "It's hard to distinguish between the two. They're both spenders. If I had to vote today, I'd vote for Bush, but not with a lot of enthusiasm. If a Libertarian gets on the ballot [in Ohio], I'd vote for that candidate."
Michael Fortine, who runs a CPA firm in Youngstown, said he does tax work for small businesses and is hard pressed to find any that benefited from Bush's tax plan. Fortine, a Democrat who voted for Al Gore in 2000, plans to vote for Kerry in November.
"The tax changes didn't help the middle class," he said. "I didn't see any added benefit to businesses over what they were already receiving before the cuts. I like Kerry because he's a bright guy and a more intellectual candidate."
skolnick@vindy.com