WEST ORANGE - Prevailing wisdom suggests it's tough to start a small business in New Jersey.

Not only does that view permeate, it seems to be bipartisan.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill, appearing Thursday afternoon in the backyard of a local restaurant, pledged to do something about it.

She spoke after two owners of small businesses in town lamented a lengthy and often expensive approval process.

Sherrill, now a congresswoman from CD-11, said state agencies overseeing the approval process are more inclined to "get to no," than they are to get to yes.

If that was a shot at the Murphy Administration, it makes political sense. Republicans like to talk about running against "four more years of Phil Murphy."  So it's advantageous for Sherrill to do what she can to separate herself from the governor.

Sherrill echoed comments made by the business owners and issued a plan that would save prospective business men and women "time and money."

Here are the highlights:

Make state agencies focus on customer service; expanding online services can help do that.

Reduce wait times for needed licenses "significantly" and eliminate business registration fees. Sherrill said she wants to reduce license approval time by 50 percent and cut wait times for business project approval and online MVC appointments by 25 percent each.

The state has a Business Action Center to aid state businesses, which Sherrill says she wants to "turbocharge."

More broadly, she proposed making the approval process more timely and transparent. And she spoke of a "fast track team" to expedite project approvals.

Cutting "red tape" is another part of the plan, which, naturally, poses a question.

Sherrill is not the only candidate to talk about cutting red tape. Chris Christie had a whole commission charged with doing that.  But the problem persists.

Why will Sherrill's approach be different?

In answering, she referred to her work as a congresswoman.

She said her team works hard to solve problems and meet constituent needs.

As examples, she spoke of securing federal money to provide local police with license plate readers and to combat Whippany River flooding.

The license plate readers help police track stolen vehicles. She said the river is being de-snagged and is flowing better.

Sherrill said this is a case of her staff identifying community needs and delivering.

'My team gets back to people," she said, adding that, "There is a real accountability and action in my congressional office," - which is something she said she will bring to Trenton.