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Quote:Steven Preston, the little-known lawn maintenance executive the White House tapped last week to replace Hector Barreto at the helm of the Small Business Administration is stirring up some industry advocates. They say the Chicago businessman and Bush loyalist is no friend of theirs. As executive vice president, strategic services of Illinois-based ServiceMaster, which operates popular home service brands such as Merry Maids, Terminix and TruGreen ChemLawn, Preston oversees the company's long-term planning and technology systems, among other areas.

"The small-business community's been fighting ServiceMaster for years," says Harry Alford, president and chief executive of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Alford says ServiceMaster was active -- and successful -- in getting the government to cap the small-business set-asides in the lawn-care industry...