Political Activism

Provided are a number of “activism” tips for business people to keep in mind when getting politically involved.

1) Be Informed

• Stay abreast of issues by reading Chamber LINKS and the Chamber’s legislative reports and alerts.  These will contain valuable information and background.
• If you are not sure who are the candidates, go to

Candidates (searchable) - http://www.wvsos.com/elections/candidates/data/candidatesearch.asp

Offices on the ballot - http://www.wvsos.com/elections/offices/officesdetail.htm

Political Districts and Circuits in WV - http://www.wvsos.com/elections/offices/districts.htm

To find out who represents you in the West Virginia Legislature, then go to this U.S. Chamber web site and put in your work or home zip code: http://capwiz.com/chamber/dbq/officials/directory/directory.dbq?command=statedir&state=WV  or view these maps: http://129.71.164.29/members/maps/hmap_index.html.

2) Register to Vote and VOTE!

If you have changed your address, are new to the state or have moved, please remember to register to vote: http://www.wvsos.com/elections/voters/registernow.htm

Election Day – November 2, 2004

3) Talk to the Candidates

• When contacting a candidate about an issue, make sure you focus on one issue at a time and identify any policy or bill (S. 223) that is important to you.
• Keep interaction with candidates local, keep it personal, keep it concise.  Provide specific examples of how issues or concerns you have will impact your business and employees.
• Take time to invite candidates to your work location so they can hear directly from you and your employees.
• When an issue is particularly important, write a short letter to the editor and send it to your local newspaper.  These are read and trac ked by candidates.

4) Political Contributions

If you are interested in supporting a candidate, financial contributions are always appreciated and needed.  In West Virginia , an individual may provide only personal financial contributions, and the maximum amount is $1,000 per candidate.  Candidates are required to list the address and occupation of individuals who provide contributions of $200 or more.

Another way to participate in the political process is to provide a personal financial contribution to a political action committee (PAC).  Again, the maximum amount an individual may contribute is $1,000 to a particular PAC.