State Senator Bill Kennemer, a longtime lawmaker representing the Canby area, was recognized by the state’s leading small-business association recently during a ceremony at Gwynn’s Coffeehouse.
Kennemer was selected by the National Federation of Independent Business’s Oregon Leadership Council to receive a Guardians of Small Business award statue, in recognition of his 100% voting record and what he called his “above-and-beyond commitment” to the state’s Main Street entrepreneurs.
“While a number of state legislators have earned the right to be called a Guardian of Small Business, Senator Bill Kennemer deserves special recognition,” said Anthony Smith, Oregon state director for the NFIB.
“Whenever there is a call to stand up for small business, Senator Bill Kennemer is there, fighting for Oregon’s small businesses. Whether shepherding bipartisan legislation to provide unemployment insurance tax relief or opposing controversial new labor costs on Oregon’s agricultural employers, Bill Kennemer has been there for our small businesses.”
Senators and representatives were scored on seven votes taken during the 2021 and 2022 sessions of the Legislature.
Those voting for the NFIB position more than 80% of the time received a Guardian award, a nationally recognized accomplishment reserved for legislators and congressional representatives who vote consistently with small business on the key issues identified by small-business owners.
Kennemer’s rating on the votes was 100%, as graded by the NFIB.
“With 99.4% of our Oregon businesses being small businesses and with over 54% of Oregon’s employees working for those small businesses, standing up for our small businesses is both the critical and the right thing to do,” Kennemer said.
