LEGISLATIVE REPORT
Politics and Governing is not a spectator sport
The NJ State PBA has had a lot to say the past
few years about the need for members to
become engaged or re-engage in the political
process. Practically speaking, an organization
isn’t worth much if its members can’t be counted
on to fight together for the causes and the people
that control your day-to-day lives. But the call to
ROB NIXON political action means a lot more than just showing up during elections. In fact, there are a number of things members can be doing every day to make a
difference in the towns where you work and live and in the
State Legislature before and after the votes in an election are
counted.
I can appreciate that some people are distrustful of the
political process or simply don’t like to get involved in politics.
But being involved should not be equated with being engaged
with the governing process. Being politically active means a
person plays a role in the election of candidates for office or
actively supports a political party. But being involved in the
process of governing is a different, but no less critical, way of
being engaged.
Now is the time, well before elections are taking place, to
decide whether you want to make a difference. The State PBA
is looking for members who are willing to take part in that
process now. If you want to be on the front lines of an election
to support or oppose a legislator who will decide whether you
have a decent pension, health benefits and the right to collectively bargain a contract, then PBA President Pat Colligan is
encouraging you to go to www.njspba.com and click on the
“Election Volunteers” link.
Serious decisions about how you do your job, as well as
those “pension and payday” issues, are on the line in the next
NJ State Legislative Session, so it is going to be vital that
Republican and Democratic Legislators, and their leadership,
know the PBA was in the streets and is a political force to be
reckoned with come November. Campaigns need volunteers
and candidates know who was there and who wasn’t during
the fight. The sight of a team wearing PBA t-shirts delivering
literature or answering the phones is going to mean more to a
candidate than you know.
However, not every member is going to be comfortable or
have the time to knock on doors for a candidate, volunteer
during a campaign or help to get voters out to the poll