The Beginning of a New Era

Well, that title sounds pretty daunting. For those that know me well, or maybe even not so well, change does not immediately come easy for me. So as I embark on this new job, it does seem like an era in some ways.

My new title will be director of federal government affairs and my responsibilities will be to manage the political involvement programs. If you are like most members of my family, the best you can do at explaining my job is that "I work in Washington, DC." If you really want to know what I do, read on! What are some of the components of a company's political involvement programs?

• Political Action Committee (PAC) – A PAC enables employees or members of groups - such as corporations and professional organizations - to pool their political contributions and support candidates who will help the organization achieve its legislative objectives. My responsibilities include raising money from management employees for the PAC and also the process of overseeing the disbursements that we give to candidates. Something that will be new to me is "PAC Match," which is a benefit offered by thePAC where all of a person’s PAC contribution is "matched" by a contribution to charity. (For example, if an employee contributes $100 to the PAC, the company will make a $100 to a charity of the employe's choice.)
• Grassroots – Organized company-wide program to inform about legislative issues important to the company, recruit and deploy the political power of constituents. In the case of a company, the constituent group could include any of the following: employees, retirees, shareholders, vendors and customers.
• "Get out the vote" (GOTV) – Organized efforts to assist employees in the electoral/voting process.

Political education is the foundation. As you can see, all of the above programs require the company to provide constant political education to their employees, retirees, shareholders, vendors and customers on why a company is involved in the political process. Without informing our audiences on the legislative and regulatory issues that we face, we can't expect them to want to support us on our grassroots efforts when we need their help or contribute to the PAC to help elect candidates that understand our legislative and regulatory issues.

So, maybe this has clarified some of the questions you've alway had about my job. Or perhaps, it's more confusing than ever! Regardless, for me, a new era embarks.