[Marram]

DATE: May 2, 2008
FROM: The Krueger Neighborhood Association (KNA) of Michigan City

NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP ENDORSES CANDIDATES
KNA Votes to Endorse Arnold, Stalbrink

The Krueger Neighborhood Association (KNA) has decided, through a popular vote of our members, to endorse Jim Arnold for District 8 State Senator and Richard Stalbrink for Judge, Superior Court Number 2. Mr. Arnold has demonstrated, through his association with us, a sincere interest in grassroots development and activism; and we believe he will be a dedicated advocate for our neighborhoods in the future. Our endorsement of Mr. Stalbrink is based on the strong professional and personal recommendations that members made on his behalf.

Many of the candidates appear to be earnest and well qualified. We have chosen to endorse Mr. Arnold and Mr. Stalbrink in particular because we firmly believe they will work towards creating better neighborhoods in Michigan City.

[Dave]

I'm not so sure about neighborhood associations doing endorsements.

If for no other reason, if the neighborhood association is, or wants to become, a 501( c )3 not-for-profit, the IRS frowns on such political activities.

Relevant link.

[Marram]

I'm not so sure about neighborhood associations doing endorsements.

If for no other reason, if the neighborhood association is, or wants to become, a 501( c )3 not-for-profit, the IRS frowns on such political activities.

Relevant link.

Politics is the fossil fuel of our democracy. Oftentimes smelly and dangerous, it is necessary and, quite simply, how our country runs. Luckily, or perhaps not (depending on how you feel about it), politics is different from a fossil fuel in that it is a renewable resource, more like fertilizer than petroleum.

I suppose if we ever decide to seek nonprofit status, we would have to consider that issue, but as of right now we have chosen to use our experience working with government representatives to inform the public about those candidates who are "neighborhood-friendly". Personally, I think that an endorsement from a neighborhood group is relevant, especially in comparison to that of a group like the teacher's union or the chamber of commerce where there are definitely vested interests at play. We try very hard to evaluate candidates based on their work with us, and our belief in whether or not they will benefit the neighborhoods throughout Michigan City.

Regardless of how you or I feel about this, I am glad it inspires some thought about the process. And, for the record, please keep in mind that our endorsement is completely separate from our work with the Neighborhood Alliance. We made our decision and publicized it after the Alliance Forum specifically for that reason.

[Southsider2k12]

I'm not so sure about neighborhood associations doing endorsements.

If for no other reason, if the neighborhood association is, or wants to become, a 501( c )3 not-for-profit, the IRS frowns on such political activities.

Relevant link.

I know that there is the legal aspect of things, but I like the idea of small local organizations supporting good candidates. Politics should start from the ground up, not from the top down. Groups like KHA getting out and pushing the good candidates is a good start to bring these people back to where they need to be, and that is doing what we want them to do. I also believe the more people we can involved and give a say to in this process will give us better candidates and elected officials. I think Michigan City as a whole is reaping the rewards for being so detached from the political process for such a prolonged period of time.

[JHeath]

I think Michigan City as a whole is reaping the rewards for being so detached from the political process for such a prolonged period of time.

We sure are...

[Dave]

Pardon me while I ramble on a bit...

Well, there's another aspect as well. I enjoyed the candidate forum, and I decided who I was going to vote for in a couple of races as the result of the forum. But, if the neighborhood groups are going to sponsor the forum, then endorse some candidates (which at least implies something about their view of the unendorsed candidates), what are the chances that one of the unendorsed candidates will come back for further neighborhood forums?

Let me use an example. If I am running in the Democratic primary for dogcatcher in Anytown, U.S.A., and attend a candidate's forum with my competition in the primary being held by the Blackacre Neighborhood Association (BNA), and after the forum the BNA endorses my opponent, but I win anyway -- what do you figure the odds are that I am going to attend their candidates forum for the general election? Or any subsequent forums in the future? Not to mention possible situations such as alienating members who back the unendorsed candidates.

Another point I have is this: how much impact does the endorsement have? I'm a member of a neighborhood association myself. If the membership of my neighborhood association expressed an interest in endorsing candidates, I would argue against it for the simple reason that it wouldn't sway me one way or the other, and I'm a member of the group. If I've reached the decision that I'm voting for candidate X and the neighborhood association endorses candidate Z, the endorsement alone isn't going to change how I vote. Mayhaps the reasoning behind the endorsement could sway my vote, but the endorsement alone, not so much.

I'd prefer stuff like voter registration drives and such, but endorsing specific candidates bothers me because I think neighborhood associations should strive to be non-partisan.

[Dennis Miller]...of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.[/Dennis Miller]

[Marram]

If you'd rather, think of our endorsement as us certifying the candidate as "neighborhood friendly."

Also, please consider the following:

• We did not endorse a candidate in every race: only those with whom we had a strong working relationship.
• KNA did not sponsor the forum. We were only one of the sponsors. The Neighborhood Alliance sponsored the Forum and did not endorse anyone. Our group waited until after the forum to decide on any endorsements.
• I have participated in forums where the organization then endorsed another candidate besides me: the Teachers's Assoc Forum and the Chamber Forum. I would not avoid those forums just because they did not endorse me.
• Finally, our decision is grounded in our experience of having worked with government representatives on grass roots quality of life issues and witnessing specific candidates respond to those issues. Given that experience, we are providing a public service (information) to our neighbors. Personally, if I were for some reason not actively involved with my neighborhood group and that group endorsed a candidate, I would seriously weigh that endorsement, and I would be glad for the "heads up."

[Dave]

If you'd rather, think of our endorsement as us certifying the candidate as "neighborhood friendly."

Also, please consider the following:

• We did not endorse a candidate in every race: only those with whom we had a strong working relationship.
• KNA did not sponsor the forum. We were only one of the sponsors. The Neighborhood Alliance sponsored the Forum and did not endorse anyone. Our group waited until after the forum to decide on any endorsements.

I was aware that KNA wasn't the only sponsor. Heck, I was there. So were you. We talked.

We may have to agree to disagree on this, but would you agree that the Neighborhood Alliance shouldn't be endorsing candidates?

• I have participated in forums where the organization then endorsed another candidate besides me: the Teachers's Assoc Forum and the Chamber Forum. I would not avoid those forums just because they did not endorse me.

Yeah, but I'm more vindictive than you are!

• Finally, our decision is grounded in our experience of having worked with government representatives on grass roots quality of life issues and witnessing specific candidates respond to those issues. Given that experience, we are providing a public service (information) to our neighbors. Personally, if I were for some reason not actively involved with my neighborhood group and that group endorsed a candidate, I would seriously weigh that endorsement, and I would be glad for the "heads up."

Well, I can't say endorsements don't sway me at all, as I did use endorsements to determine who I voted for in at least one of the races. But that particular race was one where I knew virtually nothing about the candidates, and I didn't research the candidates on my own.

[Southsider2k12]

Pardon me while I ramble on a bit...

Well, there's another aspect as well. I enjoyed the candidate forum, and I decided who I was going to vote for in a couple of races as the result of the forum. But, if the neighborhood groups are going to sponsor the forum, then endorse some candidates (which at least implies something about their view of the unendorsed candidates), what are the chances that one of the unendorsed candidates will come back for further neighborhood forums?

Let me use an example. If I am running in the Democratic primary for dogcatcher in Anytown, U.S.A., and attend a candidate's forum with my competition in the primary being held by the Blackacre Neighborhood Association (BNA), and after the forum the BNA endorses my opponent, but I win anyway -- what do you figure the odds are that I am going to attend their candidates forum for the general election? Or any subsequent forums in the future? Not to mention possible situations such as alienating members who back the unendorsed candidates.

One thing I wanted to respond to... The candidate who never comes back. To me, that says more about the candidate than anything else. Any halfways decent politician has to go into situations where he doesn't like the people across the table from him/her. There are going to be situations where you don't respect, don't agree with, or just flat out don't like, someone that you have to work with to get things done. Very few politicians can afford to just cut out people who say something they don't like. This isn't like Chicago where one person controls all of the strings and everyone else is pretty much under his spell. MC is small enough where things like neighborhood associations can literally sway an election. Heck when Teach and I ran for school board, the margins of victory were close enough that something like this could have made a large difference between winning and staying home. If/when I run again, I am still going to go to the organizations that didn't endorse me and try hard to win that endorsement.

[Dave]

Yet another reason why I wouldn't do well as a politician.

If I was running for office a second time, either for re-election or again for the same or a different office, and I had appeared in front of the XYZ association, and they ended up endorsing my opponent the first time around, I would figure my time campaigning could probably be spent more effectively somewhere else.

Once elected, on the other hand, I would treat the guy who gave my campaign more money than anyone else the same way I would treat the guy who gave my opponent more money than anyone else.

Which is probably yet another reason why I wouldn't do well as a politician.

[Marram]

Also, please consider the following:

• We did not endorse a candidate in every race: only those with whom we had a strong working relationship.
• KNA did not sponsor the forum. We were only one of the sponsors. The Neighborhood Alliance sponsored the Forum and did not endorse anyone. Our group waited until after the forum to decide on any endorsements.

I was aware that KNA wasn't the only sponsor. Heck, I was there. So were you. We talked.
We may have to agree to disagree on this, but would you agree that the Neighborhood Alliance shouldn't be endorsing candidates?

Yeah, we were both there and talked, and you did not even recognize me!
Seriously, that comment was directed at the peanut gallery, and because I can not emphasize enough that our endorsement was just from the KNA group. Given that the other neighborhood groups are not comfortable with doing an endorsement at this time, I would not think of suggesting that the Alliance do such a thing. The Alliance is too important to risk it. But give me a couple of years to convince folks otherwise...