President’s Message — Help Make This Year’s General Election Successful for AAOC

Help Make This Year’s General Election Successful for AAOC

By Frank alvarez President

Summer is the perfect time to get away and relax, so you can come back refreshed and ready for the rest of the year. Most of us probably have a particular activity or outlet that provides us with that much desired relaxation.

I like to fish, and while most people think fishing is little more than dropping a line, that’s not the whole picture.

With fishing, you will not be successful in landing the big one unless you are prepared: • Getting the right lures and bait ready • Spooling the right line — on the right reel — on the right pole • Scouting where the fish have been biting, mapping the spots, and planning your time • Gathering all the supplies you’re going to need for a successful day • Being ready to jump into action as soon as the time and opportunity is right

While thinking about how to have a successful day fishing, I saw parallels with what we can do to protect our industry in the general election this fall.

Believe it or not, we are already in the middle of election season, and now is the time when we have an opportunity to really make a difference.

With that in mind, I sat down with AAOC’s Vice President of External Affairs, Chip Ahlswede, to see what we can do to make sure we have a successful election day for our industry — and just maybe land a big one for multifamily housing. Frankie: So, Chip, the sun’s shining, the waves are calling, and the BBQ is going. Are we really in the middle of election season?

Chip: Believe it or not, we are. In fact, by the time our members read this, we will be in the midst of what we call the “filing period” This is when candidates formally signal their candidacy for city council or other local elected office by pulling nomination papers, completing them, and then filing the paperwork by the deadline — which this year is August 12. After that, their campaign officially begins and they’re off to the races. Frankie: Well, that leads perfectly into my next question. What can we in the rental-housing industry do to get ready for this election? What can we do to be part of the process? Chip: Sure, that’s a great place to start. And to tell you the truth, there is a lot that we can do now and moving forward during the campaign season, such as: 1. Let me start with the shameless plug — Be sure you contribute to

AAOC’s Political Action Committee.

You can contribute online via your member account and the AAOC website. We are ready to fight for you and support the candidates who share our values on rental housing issues, but our political firepower is limited to the financial ammunition you provide us to invest in those candidates.

2. Before August 12th, consider running for office — or encouraging like-minded leaders in your community to run. No one can better represent our industry than ourselves.

3. Next, AAOC PAC trustees are going to be evaluating the candidates and determining who to support in which races. However, your guidance and input is extremely valuable. You know your communities best, so please share us with the information and insight that we need to know to make the best-informed decisions.

4. Along those lines, please also coordinate with us on which areas, messages, and candidates we really need to focus on — and which strategies we’re looking to implement that will drive success for our issues.

5. Finally, help us Communicate,

Inform, and Advocate our issues and our supported candidates with your peers, your personal and professional networks, and others in your community. It takes money to get the message out to the masses, but it takes votes to win elections. Word of mouth from enough people at the