 |
| Pam Melton is the Director of Political Affairs for the NC Credit Union League. She may be reached at (800) 822-8859, ext. 9067. |
We need to expand our local thinking when it comes to politics. Everyone knows the significance of this year’s Presidential election. However, Congressional elections across the US are extremely important to credit unions.
“Congressional members do more than just vote on important legislation,” said NCCUL Director of Political Affairs, Pam Melton. “They serve on key committees that introduce legislation that can be extremely impactful to credit unions. Therefore, we want to be at the table prior to any legislation being introduced that could help or harm our industry.”
“To be a part of this important decision making process we need to help elect candidates who are supportive of credit unions,” said Melton. “A recent special election in Oregon for US House District 1 is a perfect example of a race that was extremely important to our industry.”
The two leading candidates in the Oregon race were Rob Cornilles and Suzanne Bonamici. Cornilles served on the board of Umpqua Bank Regional Division. Umpqua’s CEO testified against the credit union public deposits bill in the Oregon State Legislature. In contrast, Bonamici, a former State Senator, made MBL legislation a key component of her campaign’s platform.
Thanks to the efforts of Oregon credit unions and CULAC support at the maximum level, credit unions were able to help Bonamici secure a comfortable victory over Cornilles.
“We have to support political efforts on both the state and local levels,” explained Melton. “There are so many open seats in play during this election cycle, so we have an opportunity to help elect credit union friendly candidates who will represent our state and federal interests.”
The League encourages all North Carolina credit unions to be active participants in this year’s election. Supporting the League’s political efforts will be a vital component in helping to support candidates who are supportive of credit union issues. Pam Melton will be in touch with each credit union to discuss how we can better position ourselves politically. In you have any suggestions or knowledge of state and federal candidates, please don’t hesitate to share them with Pam.