Paula knows the challenges small business owners face because she is one. When she lost her job during the COVID-19 pandemic, she didn’t give up — she pivoted, launching her own consulting firm while earning a doctorate.

That resilience taught her what entrepreneurs across our district experience every day: the determination to build something, the late nights balancing the books, and the struggle to navigate red tape.

Small businesses are the backbone of our community — from the family-owned shops in Little Saigon to restaurants and salons across the district. Paula will fight for policies that help entrepreneurs thrive and create good jobs.

• Champion small business: Expand grants, low-interest loans, and technical assistance for small business owners — especially immigrant entrepreneurs and family-owned businesses that serve our diverse communities.

• Cut red tape: Streamline permitting and reduce bureaucratic hurdles that make it harder for small businesses to open and grow.

• Protect workers and support business: Ensure fair wages while providing small businesses the support they need to compete — including healthcare purchasing pools and workforce training partnerships.

• Create career pathways: Fund job training and apprenticeship programs in growing industries — healthcare, clean energy, construction, and tech — so workers have paths to stable, well-paying careers.

• Protect gig and contract workers: Ensure rideshare drivers, delivery workers, and freelancers have access to fair pay, benefits, and basic protections.

• Build local wealth: Encourage worker-owned cooperatives and local ownership models that keep money circulating in our communities.