POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE : How Business Views the Election

To monitor business’s pulse on politics, The Times will present Southland executives’ and business owners’ opinions about the presidential election. This is one in a series of snapshots.

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Name: Patsy Brown

Company: Papa’s Grocery Store, Crenshaw District of Los Angeles

Position: Owner

Registration: Democrat

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Q. Who are you going to vote for?

A. Bill Clinton

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Q. Why?

A. Two reasons. He said the magic word: change. . . . I just don’t want the Republicans or the present leadership to be in there with some more surprises. I think a new leadership will deal with domestic issues, and I think with that I will be given the opportunity for recovery or to move forward. . . . I like his wife. I can see the two of them in a partnership. And I think we need a fresh perspective. I know it’s not going to be easy, but I think they’re young enough to roll up their sleeves and get busy, and I want to be on that team. I think they (Hillary and Bill Clinton) match the ‘90s. They are a fit for the ‘90s. The woman is a professional. She can do both things, she is a wife and a mother. And she is outspoken.

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Q. What are the main issues for your business?

A. Short funds. (You can’t) walk into the bank and say your equipment is 8 years old and be taken seriously by the bank. One day I’d like to own a chain. I don’t think Clinton or Bush or whoever is the President will have any direct bearing on my small business. But I would feel comforted that business won’t get any worse (if Clinton is elected). Business has been good. But we have noticed a dip, though I wouldn’t say we’re hurting any more than anyone else.

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Q. What needs to be done to right the economy?

A. I think the first thing we could do is use all those dollars (spent to house prisoners) to do the public works thing, the roads and the highways. Or hire prisoners to do that work themselves. I think it would give these young men, well most of them, a sense of self to be working. I like that old idea of the WPA (Works Project Administration) that Franklin Roosevelt had. And if we started in the old neighborhoods and rebuilt them, that would spur everything. We need to gentrify the neighborhoods. I don’t say it’s a cure-all. But those two things would get us moving. The bottom line with me is putting people to work.