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32 NEW JERSEY COPS
■
DECEMBER 2014
PAC Up
PBA approves implementation of PAC Fund to increase
means to influence politicos
■ BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
As part of the NJ State PBA’s growing strategy to work
with, and impact, state legislators and elected officials, the
Board of Delegates has approved implementing a by-laws
addition to inaugurate a Political Action Campaign (PAC)
fund. The by-law change for the PAC fund was unanimously approved at the Dec. 9 State PBA meeting, and will be in
place for 2015 with an initial three-year run.
“Politicians have a pretty insatiable appetite for cash to
run their elections campaigns,” noted PBA State President
Pat Colligan. “The New Jersey Education Association and
FMBA have been pretty successful with their PAC. If it isn’t
effective in three years, we will modify or say goodbye. But
it’s kind of crazy to take no progressive action.”
The PAC Fund will be the latest mechanism in the political approach President Colligan and Executive Vice-President Marc Kovar have deployed since taking office in July.
The initiative started with their plan to meet with every state
senator and assembly representative – which is still in
progress – and the hugely successful PBA Day at the NJ State
Legislature on Oct. 16.
President Colligan announced he was going to explore
implementing a PAC Fund in his first President’s Report at
the July State Meeting. When he, Kovar, Director of Political Affairs Rob Nixon and keynote speaker and renowned
political consultant Hank Sheinkopf advocated for it at the
NJ State PBA Convention in September, the idea picked up
significant momentum among members.
“I was testing the water because I wasn’t going to make a
decision that anybody is against, but I have received a lot of
positive feedback in favor of a PAC fund,” Colligan
explained. “When I first sat down with Rob, he showed me
a folder loaded with requests from elected officials for
money. I agreed with (Past President) Tony’s (Wieners) decision to close the checkbook because of what they had done
to us. But we can’t continue that, so with a new leadership it
was an opportunity to try a new approach.”
As part of the exploration, President Colligan also convened a committee to research how to run a PAC Fund. The
research included meeting with an attorney who has
expertise in PACs and an accountant to advise how to run
the financial disbursements.
Now, the PBA would be able to make contributions to
political campaigns without a PAC Fund. But according to
state law, those contributions would be restricted to $2,600
per election cycle. And of that $2,600, $910 must be given to
“Our decisions will be
made for the benefit of
33,000, not for one local. ”
PAT COLLIGAN
the state of New Jersey for taxes. A PAC Fund allows writing
one check per year and for higher amounts.
There’s also one more process improvement the PAC
Fund allows that will be important to PBA members:
“Right now, Marc and I can cut any check we want to any
politician anywhere in the state,” President Colligan submitted. “With the PAC Fund, the committee will approve
our decisions, and every single member will be able to log
on to our website and see the income and every single
check we cut.”
So that brings us to the key questions from members
regarding becoming PAC men and women.
The first question concerns how the State PBA will determine which elected officials or candidates get the financial
support. Colligan says that process won’t change much. The
PBA will consider each and every decision individually, and
make sure that it’s not a matter of a package of money coming next year that has to be dispersed by the end of the year.
“Our decisions will be made for the benefit of 33,000, not
for one Local,” he continued. “Sometimes, a contribution
may end up with a person who was your mayor once and
you didn’t get along with him. I can promise we will be as
fiscally responsible with the PAC money as we are with our
general funds now.”
The big question, then, is how much the PAC will cost
each member?
The cost per member will be $18 per year. Breaking that
down, the cost is $1.50 per month or a 69-cent deduction
per bi-weekly paycheck.
“I think some of our members spend more than $18 a
year on a cigar or a lunch,” mused Colligan in his disarming
way that has become as much a part of the new PBA
approach as the change in political activism. “The way our
system works, to watch every major union and special interest group do this and sit on the sidelines and watch is not
possible anymore.” d