From Small Businesses to Big Opportunities: Growing PSL Together

Port St. Lucie is one of the fastest-growing cities in Florida, and in the entire nation. But growth alone doesn’t guarantee opportunity. As your next mayor, I believe our most important job is making sure that growth works for everyone, especially the small business owners and working families who are the true backbone of our community.

I’ve spent my career watching Port St. Lucie evolve from a quiet bedroom community into a vibrant, ambitious city. I’ve seen the best of what happens when local entrepreneurs get the right support, and I’ve seen the frustration when red tape, rising costs, and missed connections leave too many businesses struggling to survive their first few years. That has to change.

This isn’t just an economic argument, it’s a moral one. When a small business thrives, a family builds wealth. When a neighborhood restaurant fills its tables, a street becomes safer and more alive. When a local contractor wins a city project, the dollars stay in PSL. Our economy is only as strong as its most local layer.

Why Small Businesses Are PSL’s Greatest Asset

Across America, small businesses employ nearly half the private-sector workforce. Here in Port St. Lucie, they’re even more central to our identity. From the family-owned shops along US-1 to the service providers, contractors, and creative entrepreneurs building something new in our neighborhoods, these businesses are not just economic engines. They are community anchors.

Yet despite this growth, too many of our small business owners tell me the same thing: City Hall feels distant. Permitting is slow. Incentive programs are hard to navigate. And when a big developer comes to town, local businesses often get left on the sidelines. That is not the Port St. Lucie I want to build.

“When you invest in a small business, you’re not just creating a job, you’re investing in a family, a neighborhood, and the future of Port St. Lucie itself.” Steven Giordano

My Vision: A Pro-Business, Pro-Community Agenda

Growing PSL together means building a city that is equally welcoming to the entrepreneur opening her first boutique on Port St. Lucie Boulevard and the tech company scouting its next Florida headquarters. These goals are not in conflict, they reinforce each other. Here’s what I will fight for as mayor:

1. Streamline Permits & Cut Red Tape

Time is money, especially for a small business owner who can’t afford to wait four months for a permit. As mayor, I will lead a full audit of our permitting process with one goal: get decisions made faster, with more transparency, and with a dedicated concierge service for businesses with fewer than 50 employees. No small business owner should need a lawyer just to open a storefront.

• Target a 30-day maximum permit review for small business applications
• Create a Small Business Navigator position inside City Hall
• Move more permitting services fully online

2. Launch the PSL Small Business Investment Fund

Access to capital remains the number-one barrier for entrepreneurs, particularly for first-generation business owners, women, and minority entrepreneurs. I will work with local banks, the Chamber of Commerce, and state partners to establish a dedicated micro-loan and grant program for PSL small businesses, prioritizing those in underserved corridors and those creating local jobs.

• Micro-grants of up to $10,000 for startups in target industries
• Low-interest loan guarantees for businesses expanding and hiring locally
• Partnership with Florida SBDC for free mentorship & financial coaching

3. Prioritize Local Vendors in City Contracts

Every year, Port St. Lucie spends millions of dollars on goods, services, and construction. Too much of that money leaves our city. I will implement a “PSL First” procurement policy that gives a meaningful preference to qualified local businesses when the city goes out to bid. Keeping those dollars in Port St. Lucie multiplies their impact throughout our economy.

• 5% bid preference for PSL-based businesses on city contracts
• Annual vendor fair connecting city departments with local suppliers
• Transparent public dashboard tracking local vs. out-of-area contract awards

4. Build a Thriving Downtown & Commercial Corridor

Port St. Lucie is long overdue for a true downtown district, a walkable, vibrant hub where residents want to spend time, and where businesses want to put down roots. My administration will accelerate mixed-use development, invest in streetscape improvements, support outdoor dining and pop-up markets, and create the kind of place that puts PSL on the map as a destination, not just a pass-through.

• Fast-track mixed-use zoning revisions to encourage street-level retail
• Support for seasonal markets, food truck parks, and arts-driven activations
• Infrastructure investment in lighting, sidewalks, and public spaces

5. Attract High-Quality Jobs & Anchor Industries

Small businesses flourish when the broader economy is healthy and when residents have good-paying jobs. That’s why I will aggressively recruit clean energy, life sciences, technology, and logistics companies to PSL, sectors aligned with Florida’s strengths and our geography. More quality jobs mean more customers walking through our small business doors every single day.

• Dedicated Economic Development Director reporting directly to the mayor
• Tailored incentive packages for industries that offer living wages
• Partnership with Indian River State College for workforce pipeline programs

Growth Must Be Inclusive

I want to be honest about something: growth that only benefits developers or large corporations isn’t the kind of growth that builds a great city. Port St. Lucie’s population is beautifully diverse, we are a city of immigrants, longtime Floridians, retirees, young families, and first-generation Americans building their dreams here. Our economic strategy must reflect that diversity.

That means targeted outreach to business owners from every background. It means making sure our programs are available in multiple languages. It means listening, really listening, to the small business communities along Bayshore Boulevard, in the Torino area, and in every corner of PSL, not just the most visible corridors.

“A city that lifts its smallest entrepreneurs lifts every resident. That’s not idealism, that’s just good economics.” Steven Giordano

A Mayor Who Shows Up

Policy proposals matter, but so does leadership style. As mayor, I will personally host quarterly Small Business Town Halls, not just ribbon-cutting photo ops, but working sessions where owners can raise real problems and get real answers from city staff. I will maintain an open-door office, a responsive team, and a culture at City Hall that treats every business owner as a partner, not a nuisance.

I’ve spoken with hundreds of small business owners across Port St. Lucie during this campaign. Their energy, creativity, and resilience inspire me every single day. They don’t need the city to do the work for them, they need the city to get out of their way and then show up when it counts.

That is exactly what I intend to do.

The Bottom Line

Port St. Lucie is at a crossroads. We can allow growth to happen to us, shaped by outside forces and distant interests, or we can take ownership of our future and build the city we actually want to live in. I choose the latter.

From small businesses to big opportunities, the path forward runs right through our own neighborhoods, our own entrepreneurs, and our own people. Together, we can make Port St. Lucie a city where every resident has a fair shot at prosperity and every business owner has a genuine partner in City Hall.

That is the Port St. Lucie I’m running to build. I hope you’ll join me.