Political Action Committee
The Importance of BEING POLITICAL
BY DARRELL KRIPLEAN , PRESIDENT , PLEA
As a police association , we are charged with representing our membership . Everyone knows that we will accompany you to PSB for a misconduct investigation , show up at critical incidents to assist officers , and negotiate with the City regarding pay and benefits . What a lot of members don ’ t realize is that representation extends into the political arena . To represent our membership politically , we must have a fund set aside , called a Political Action Committee (“ PAC ”) fund . The money that a member pays in monthly dues cannot be used for the PAC fund . Conversely , monies designated for PAC cannot be used for any other purpose . The money in the PAC fund comes from individual officers having additional dollars deducted from their paychecks knowing full well where it is going to be spent .
Some people believe police associations have no business in the political arena . I , respectfully , disagree . Police associations , ours included , need to align with candidates who are law enforcement-friendly at the federal , state , and local levels .
4 • AZPLEA . COM