Dear Governor Inslee,

I petition to keep small businesses open during the next COVID-19 spike. As a small business owner, who is also friends and acquaintances with many other small business owners in Washington State,  I have personally seen the effects of business closures on my close friends and family. Not only do the closures affect business owners, but they also affect employees who work for them. In these already desperate times, putting a strong hold on small business is crushing the spirit of entrepreneurs everywhere, creating a fear that the Local State Government can shut down their operations at a moments notice. A lot of business owners rely solely on their business income, by putting a strong hold on them we are directly affecting their families. The very reason people go into business for themselves is to be in control of their income. It’s a brave hard road, they have already overcome so many obstacles such as competing with big box businesses (whom have stayed open during Covid-19) to take their small fair share of the market. Trust is lost when they know that at any moment the Governor can decide to shut their businesses down. I believe that an elected official has no place in our Local Government to take away the sole income of so many business owners, leaving them destitute and unable to come back from their business closure, while taking away the very reason they became a business owner in the first place. For this reason I petition to keep small businesses open during this next wave of COVID-19. Please keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive during these hard times. 

Sincerely,

Rachael Morton                                            Co-Owner of Vibrant Payments                        in Liberty Lake WA