Rep. Greg Stanton’s Constituent Services Team has delivered constituents in Arizona’s 9th District more than $6 million this year, a majority of which came from their diligent work in connecting small businesses with more than $5 million in pandemic assistance.
At a critical time when businesses across Arizona struggled to stay open during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Stanton’s casework team worked with dozens of small business owners to shepherd them through the Small Business Administration (SBA) application process. Providing unmatched constituent service, Stanton said, is essential to helping local businesses recover.
“When our local small businesses took the biggest hit from the pandemic, giving them the support they needed became our team’s top priority––and we delivered,” said Stanton. “In several instances, the help our team provided made the difference between a local company staying open instead of shutting its doors for good.”
Stanton’s team helped small business owners secure loans offered by the SBA, including through its Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, Paycheck Protection Program and Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program.
Bob Sommer and his business partners Cindy Dach and Gayle Shanks of Changing Hands Bookstore were struggling to get their first round of funds from the Paycheck Protection Program delivered. After their application was rejected twice by the SBA, Sommer said they almost didn’t bother submitting a third application until they reached out to Stanton’s office.
“We asked for help from Greg Stanton’s office and were immediately put in touch with one of his Constituent Services representatives who took on our case,” said Sommer. “He contacted our financial institution and put us into direct contact with one of their agents who supplied the information we required. We subsequently were successful in obtaining the loan and are very grateful for the assistance we received from Representative Stanton’s office.”
After working with Stanton’s office, Changing Hands received a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program that kept the bookstore afloat.
In another case, Heather Brown, the owner of Cultural Sponge, a local marketing agency that primarily serves non-profits and Arizona’s LGBTQ+ community, couldn’t get an approved SBA Disaster Assistance Loan. She had applied for a loan as soon as it was available in March 2020, but was denied a month later and despite doing everything asked of her by the agency, her situation hadn’t changed––five months later the SBA still hadn’t helped her.
Then she turned to Stanton’s team.
“I contacted Greg Stanton’s office, they took all of my information and contacted the SBA,” said Brown. “Within days the SBA personally contacted me. Greg’s staff were very attentive and frequently checked in via phone or email. They genuinely cared and wanted to help. I don’t know what I would have done without Greg and his team!”
Then, in May 2021, Brown needed help again––this time to modify her loan. Within days of reaching out to Stanton’s office, she was put in contact with the SBA and her loan modification was approved, allowing her business to keep running.
Residents who aren’t getting the information they need from a federal agency or believe they have been treated unfairly can contact Stanton’s office for help online or by calling (602) 956-2463.