You'd expect the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to be against raising the minimum wage. And you'd be right. But what about business owners right here in JP?
It's a more complicated picture than you might think. While it's true that Jamaica Plain votes well to the left of much of the country, small business bottom lines are still bottom lines.
A proposal to raise the minimum wage in Massachusetts is currently working its way through the legislature.
Brad Brown of Blue Frog Bakery, for one, hopes it doesn't pass in its current form.
"You have to pay what the job is worth," said Brown at Wednesday's meeting of the 
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Whatever the opinions JP business owners have about the minimum wage hike or other issues, Regan urged them on Wednesday to reach out to elected officials and make their perspectives known.
Among politicians who represent JP on Beacon Hill, Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz, D-Jamaica Plain, has voted for the November Senate version of a minimum wage hike to $11 and also for the current bill in the Senate on May 1.
Rep. Liz Malia, D-Jamaica Plain, also supports raising the minimum wage, said legislative aide Sebastian Zapata. Further, she would like the tip minimum wage increased and is against allowing employers to pay teens beneath the minimum wage.
Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez, D-Jamaica Plain, said that he does support raising the minimum wage but he wants to pair that increase with providing help to small businesses on the unemployment insurance front. The house bill combines those two issues in one piece of legislation. Jeffrey Sánchez said he and his office have been trying to stay out front on the minimum wage and other issues affecting small business. For instance, in March he held a roundtable with business owners in JP. The 15th Suffolk representative said he's heard from some — but not many — Jamaica Plain business owners about the minimum wage.
"It's upward pressure on them," Jeffrey Sánchez said.