A famous Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tip O’Neill, once opined, “All politics is local.” Since that statement is very accurate, it’s about time for residents, business owners and others interested in the future of Ward 7 to take control of our own destiny. We must quit allowing our future to be determined by whoever manages to get elected every four years. Elected officials can come and go, but the majority of us are here to stay. And we hope our next city councilperson (whoever that might be) stays as our leader for a long, long time.
But we must collectively determine who is best to represent our ward interests, get behind that person, and work to put them in office. We also must be willing to vote them out of office if they begin acting in a manner that’s not in accord with what we, the members of the community, determine is the best interests of Ward 7. But we pray it never comes to that.
To formalize our collective actions, a group of us is proposing to create a political action committee or PAC “A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of U.S. tax-exempt organization organized under Section 527 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 527). A 527 group is created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates to federal, state or local public office.”
Like it or not, money talks in politics, and it talks loudly. The rules of this game were set long before we were born. But if we want to have control of our destiny we need to use the clout of money to determine outcomes of city council elections in our ward.
A PAC is not a complicated organization, but it can be powerful in terms of keeping Ward 7 moving in the direction we, the engaged citizens of the community, want it to move. A PAC can be open to anyone who wishes to join or contribute to — residents, business owners and even those who live outside of Ward 7.
Granted, not everyone in or outside of the ward is comfortable joining a PAC. The term itself has a connotation of wielding power politics that many average citizens find distasteful. But that’s exactly what the other side wants, for you to be too timid to do what it takes, that you don’t learn how to play hardball politics — ’cause that’s exactly what they are going to be playing, while hoping we continue to play softball.
We want a fair process. All interested potential candidates for the Ward 7 councilperson’s position should be considered in an open forum, either in person or via Zoom. It will then be up to the members of the PAC to determine which candidate we want to support in their campaign and give them our financial backing as well as working to assure victory.
Therefore, I’m calling on everyone who wants the neighborhoods in Ward 7 to continue to move forward to come together with us so that we may take control of the politics that so impact our lives. If we don’t have a loud voice in who’s elected to represent us at City Hall, we could end up with some snake slithering back into office, which would set the ward backwards at least a decade, if not more.
One Response to “MANSFIELD: A PAC For Our Future”
P Jeffrey
Only Ward 7? Not the only ward w/problems.