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The Realtors Political Action Committee (RPAC) is a lobbying entity that was created by the National Association of Realtors to protect and promote the tradition of home ownership and real estate investment. To achieve their goals, RPAC seeks out and supports legislators who support the rights of property owners, fight for tax reforms, and work to reduce burdensome regulations on business. It is funded by private contributions from thousands of Realtors across the nation, and has had a significant impact on legislation that relates to real estate and investment. In the past year, the state of Illinois RPAC worked to defeat Blagojevich’s proposed service tax, a tax that would have devastated the professional and service industry. RPAC was also instrumental in passing legislation that prevents private entities from being able to acquire real estate through eminent domain, and our state RPAC continues to defeat the efforts of local lawmakers to levy real estate transfer taxes (sales tax) on homeowners. A mechanism in place for determining who should receive RPAC funds is candidate interviews at the local level. The Legislative Affairs Committee for the Peoria Area Association of Realtors arranges and conducts these interviews, then passes their recommendations along through its Board of Directors to the State RPAC. I am a first year “rookie” member of this committee. Our objectives include getting to know the candidates who seek or are holding local, state and national political offices, keep them abreast of issues that are of concern to Realtors and property owners, and, impact their decision making and voting propensity while in office. In that capacity, last Tuesday we had the opportunity to interview Colleen Callahan, the Democratic nominee for the 18th Congressional District. My first impression of Ms. Callahan was that her picture does not do her justice. She exudes a warmth and friendliness that, for a moment, made me wish that we were more aligned politically. However, fresh out of the gate I feel she made a mistake by not completing a pre-interview questionnaire that was provided to her by our committee. She stated that she did not want the committee to pre-judge her answers. My impression was that it allowed her a lack of accountability, and/or that she possessed a lack of understanding of the issues. Granted, candidates before her left some questions blank, but all had at least made a rudimentary effort. In my opinion, an hour of googling would have been well worth the effort and served her well during the course of this interview. She was also vague in her answers to questions posed from the committee members. Her responses, very broad and poetic, with little to no specifics. For example, a primary concern of the Realtor industry is that, as independent contractors, we lack the ability to obtain group coverage for health care - a major problem for those with pre-existing conditions. As a result, 60% of Realtors lack health insurance. Ms. Callahan acknowledged the health care problem, but even after a thorough prodding for her proposed solutions, offered none. I then went to her website looking for answers. I found the web address at the bottom of page 2 of a google search. No specifics there, either. As much as I am personally drawn to her warmth and charisma, I just don’t think the “Trust me I’m a good person and my sheer personality alone will affect change in Washington” argument is going to work in the 18th District. To be considered a serious candidate, we deserve to hear serious solutions. Lets see a position statement on the issues! I am all ears!
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