The Power Broker Roundtable is brought to you by the National Association of REALTORS® and Rei Mesa, NAR’s Special Liaison for Large Firm Relations. Watch for this column each month, where we address broker issues, concerns and milestones.
This month, Mesa addresses broker involvement in the upcoming election. How can you educate your agents and further represent the REALTOR® Party?
Moderator:
Rei Mesa, Special Liaison for Large Firm Relations, NAR, and President/CEO, Prudential Florida Real Estate Services
Participants:
Scott MacDonald, Broker/Owner, RE/MAX Gateway, Chantilly, Va.
Charles Oppler, President, Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty Fort Lee, N.J.
Tom Salomone, President, Realty ll, Inc., Margate, Fla.
Joe Clement, CEO, RE/MAX Properties, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Rei Mesa: As an engaged and involved statewide Florida REALTOR® and broker, I’m often asked what political party I belong to. My answer is always the same: I’m a card carrying member of the REALTOR® Party. That is to say, I am actively promoting homeownership for all, no matter their political affiliation. As we look forward to the upcoming national election, my deepest commitment is not to any single candidate, but to represent my “constituency”— homeowners and the real estate services industry—in the ongoing campaign to urge legislators to do the right thing no matter who is elected in November. Charlie, you’ve sat here in this chair. How do we further the REALTOR® Party?
Charlie Oppler: Housing has jump-started nearly every economic recovery in this country. So anything we can do to ensure that Congress stays on the side of the homeowner needs to be a top priority for every one of us.
Scott MacDonald: As a past chair of RPAC, I know how important it is for every broker and agent in our industry to invest in RPAC and participate in NAR calls for action. Hundreds of thousands of emails pushed to our legislators urging support of top NAR issues does a lot more than clog up their mailboxes. It reminds them that we’re watching them and demanding that they work on behalf of every homeowner and would-be homeowner in the land.
Joe Clement: It’s really about us making a commitment to educate our agents about investing in RPAC, and responding to calls for action. We are the REALTOR® Party…Democrats and Republicans working together to protect consumers, to protect our livelihood and promote and encourage homeownership.
Tom Salomone: We need to educate homeowners about how important it is for them to make their voices heard in Washington. They too need to talk to their representatives in D.C. urging them to stay on the side of the REALTOR® Party.
RM: So broker involvement is key. NAR’s Broker Involvement Program provides broker/owners with a quick and effective tool to rally their agents on critical legislative issues affecting the real estate industry.
CO: Absolutely. With the Program, it’s two clicks online and we can rally the power of the REALTOR® Party to send a message to legislative leaders, where it will do the most good.
TS: Legislators on both sides of the aisle understand the role real estate plays in getting the country moving again. It’s back to business once the election is over and it doesn’t matter which candidate wins.
SM: I was proud to be out there in Washington for our REALTOR® Rally on the Hill in May. I felt the power of the REALTOR® Party and the determination to make a difference. Tom’s right. In any election season, the focus is on “the Candidate,” but it’s what happens afterward that counts.
RM: There must be a bipartisan effort…on the Hill and in our industry. As REALTORS®, one of our most important jobs is keeping them focused on doing it. To vote, act and invest in the REALTOR® Party—and to learn how you can participate in the Broker Involvement Program, visit www.realtoractioncenter.com.
