“Voters don’t decide issues, they decide who will decide issues.” -George Will, U.S. journalist and commentator.

Robert Cresanti, CFE

Election season is in full swing. With elections for the U.S. President and Congress set for Nov. 8, 2016, there are many candidates for all American voters to consider as we head to the booth. These elections could very well be the most expensive elections in the history of the United States. Some have predicted that the presidential campaign alone could top $5 billion when you add up the money raised by all candidates, party funds, independent expenditures and third parties. And candidates for the both the U.S. House and Senate have raised over $1 billion in this election cycle.

It takes significant resources to run for office today, and there is much debate over whether this is good for our democracy. Some argue that contributing to a political campaign is a form of free speech and there should not be limits on how much individuals can contribute. Others feel that the constant need to raising money for campaigns takes away from governing our country and gives the wealthy class too much influence on elections. Regardless of your personal views on this, there is one thing for certain: we need to ensure that pro-growth candidates who understand the importance of franchising to our economy are elected to Congress.

FranPAC, IFA’s Political Action Committee, which raises and distributes campaign funds to candidates seeking political office, helps us to support candidates who understand the issues important to small businesses and who favor policies that will ease the regulatory burdens on today’s business owners, particularly franchise business owners. With receipts totaling nearly $1 million in the past two election cycles, we have experienced
tremendous success.  

For example, in the 2014 election cycle, FranPAC supported 162 individual candidates. In the midterm elections, FranPAC supported the winning candidate in 23 of 25 Senate races in which we were active and 100 of the 111 House races in which we were active.  

In the current election cycle, we have already supported 119 candidates with plans to support additional candidates, as well as increase support for existing candidates as the November elections approach. In addition, during this election cycle we are engaging members in the political process by working with them to attend in-district or in-state events that educate candidates about franchising. For example, in May, we supported a fundraising event for Rep. Brad Ashford (D-Neb.) hosted by Home Instead Senior Care at its headquarters in Omaha. Similarly, former IFA chairman Jack Earle attended a March fundraising event in support of Rep. Pat Meehan (R-Pa.) and FirstService Brands President & CEO and IFA Board member Charlie Chase hosted a fundraiser for Rep. Ryan Costello (R-Pa.). Meeting candidates in their home districts and connecting them with their constituents among the IFA membership has proved to be an effective method of developing long-term relationships with lawmakers.  

Participating in the political process by voting, educating members of Congress and contributing financially are helping to keep our democracy strong. For franchise leaders, participating in our grassroots activities by joining the Franchise Action Network (and attending tour our legislative Fly-In this month in Washington, D.C.) and learning more about how you can get involved with FranPAC are important ways to participate in the process to make sure that the franchise model remains strong. I urge you to visit Franchise.org to learn how you can get involved in these efforts to protect the franchising model (or contact, Senior Director of Political Affairs and Grassroots Advocacy, Erica Farage at efarage@franchise.org). As George Will said, “Voters don’t decide issues, they decide who will decide issues.” Let’s make sure that we vote for the best candidate.

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