RUMOR: The Members contribute to the Local's PAC Fund against their will.

True of False?:   SLIGHTLY TRUE BUT MOSTLY FALSE

I was asked to clarify some PAC Funding issues while making the rounds with the Ballot Box.  Here's the deal:

Back around 2005 or 2006, Local President Ray Vance asked the Membership to establish a PAC fund, expecting that the Local would start to weigh in heavily in politics, at both the City and the State levels.  A rep from the Local visited with each of the members; those who chose to voluntarily contribute to a PAC fund for the Local's use signed a PAC agreement and specified how much additional they wished to contribute; this was added to their dues.  Each time we recieve a collected dues check from the city, we skim out the PAC contribution and drop it into our PAC Fund.  (As a matter of interest, the amount has varied over time from $90 to $110 per pay period).

HOWEVER:  sometime around 2009 or 2010, there was another fiasco.  The State Organization (the APFF) was getting regular rebate checks from American Equity Life Insurance (aka "Vulcan") for all of the Locals participating in their product.  This rebate amount was used by the APFF for PAC contributions at the State level.

Eventually, it was brought up by one of the member locals that the APFF PAC Fund was essentially only being supported by the handful of Locals that were AEIL members; the other locals were essentially getting a "free ride" on the PAC expenses.  So it was decided that instead, the rebated money from AEIL would be returned to the participating locals on a per capita basis...  and instead, each member of the APFF would be assessed a twenty five cent dues increase per member, per month.  That way, each local would be contributing to the state PAC fund.

At our regular meeting after that, I informed the Membership of our Local that their dues were going to be increased by twenty five cents per month (our bylaws base dues partly on what we have to pay out to the APFF).  We looked at some options on how to pay this, and ultimately the membership present voted that we should simply allow each member to pay the additional quarter in their regular dues.

So there's the TRUTH of the matter:  we have a large Local35 PAC fund that is based solely on voluntary signed-for contributions; and also each and every member kicks back about twelve cents a pay period to the APFF PAC fund.

As always, if anyone has any questions, please contact me at your convenience.

Other interesting PAC fund facts:

• Our PAC Fund is (as of now) closely monitored and regulated by the State Ethics Commission; they keep track of what goes in, what goes out, to whom, etc.  We have only as of this year gotten "legal" with this.  It's my fault we were so late (I've known about it for years), I just dragged my feet getting it done.  I have reasons for doing this that I'm happy to discuss with anyone who wants to hear it; for just so you know, we ARE "legal" now.
• PAC contribtuions are pretty much limited to a maximum of $2,000 to any given candidate for any one specific Campaign by the State Ethics Commission.
• Our current PAC Fund is sitting at over $6,000.  We've been steadily collecting it, but we've been a bit frugal about spending it.  Maybe TOO frugal.  Personally, I wish we would throw out PAC muscle around a little bit more, but that's just me.  As always, it's the will of the Membership that directs these things.