People for Honest Government / PAC Draft Policies and Guidelines


Contents

                                I.      About P4HG

                             II.      Making a Contribution

                           III.      P4HG Board of Trustees

                          IV.      P4HG Town Coordinators

                             V.      P4HG Endorsement Policies

                          VI.      P4HG Endorsement Process

                        VII.      Supporting an Endorsement

                     VIII.      For More Information


 

I.      About P4HG

People for Honest Government/PAC is a political action committee that promotes candidates who support P4HG’s Legislative Platform by providing endorsements and campaign contributions. As the financial muscle behind P4HG’s legislative agenda, individuals contribute to the PAC to show the collective force of P4HG in the Yorktown and Westchester political process. P4HG will play an important role in helping to shape the composition of our Town Boards and our County Government. P4HG is supported solely by voluntary contributions and is governed by the New York State Board of Elections.

 

II.      Making a Contribution

P4HG may solicit donations from any individual or business. Contributions must be made by personal check, credit card, travelers check, money order, cash or through the Internet on P4HG’s website.

  • Online: www.P4HG.org and click on the Donate button. (Major Credit Cards are process through PayPal Secure Server)
  • Check: To contribute, please send your name & address along with a personal check, traveler's check or money order to:

P4HG.org Treasurer
PO Box 700
Baldwin Place
, NY 10505-0700

III.      P4HG Board of Trustees

P4HG will establish a Board of Trustees which will consists of five (5) members who are appointed by the P4HG founder. The Board of Trustees will help define the P4HG Legislative Platform and will evaluate which candidates best meet that platform.

 

 

IV.      P4HG Town Coordinators

The P4HG Town Coordinators are responsible for:

 

  • Fundraising for the P4HG
  • Publicizing all endorsed candidates from their Towns
  • Organizing P4HG grassroots activities

 

Once a candidate receives a P4HG endorsement and/or monetary contribution, P4HG will work closely with P4HG Town Coordinator and the campaign to help the candidate win his/her election.

 

V.      P4HG Endorsement Policies

 

1.      Pro-P4HG – A candidate’s position on local issues must be consistent with P4HG’s legislative platform. For challengers this is determined by a questionnaire and interview. For an incumbent this is determined by the existence of a previous P4HG endorsement and/or a demonstrated voting record of support on P4HG issues.

 

2.      Candidate Questionnaire – Every candidate must fill out a P4HG candidate questionnaire to be considered for an endorsement and/or monetary contribution. Incumbents are not required to fill out the questionnaire. The P4HG candidate questionnaire contains questions pertaining to P4HG’s Legislative Platform.

 

3.      Non-Partisan – P4HG is a nonpartisan political action committee. P4HG strives to maintain a bipartisan balance in its endorsements.

 

4.      Primary endorsements – P4HG will make endorsements in primary races where early funding can make a difference.

 

5.      Dual endorsements – P4HG may endorse two or more candidates in a race.

 

6.      Viability – P4HG supports candidates who have a chance of winning. The candidate questionnaire requests information about a candidate’s campaign budget, fundraising, polling, names of staff/key consultants; endorsements and the issues and themes that the candidate plans to emphasize during the campaign. This information provides a strong indication of a candidate's viability.

 

7.      Level of Support for Endorsed Candidates - Not every candidate who fills out a candidate questionnaire receives an endorsement. In addition, not every endorsed candidate will receive a campaign contribution. A public endorsement from P4HG is valuable to a candidate because it illustrates that a candidate supports P4HG’s legislative platform. If a candidate receives a donation, the donation size is based on several strategic factors including: candidate need, how close is the race and where we are in the election year. All of these decisions are based on the candidate and the details of the campaign.

 

VI.      P4HG Candidate Endorsement Process

The initial outreach to a candidate can begin at the local or the county level.

1.      All candidates seeking P4HG’s endorsement must complete the P4HG Candidate Questionnaire. (TBD)

  1. Interview with B4HG Board of Trustees (optional)
  2. Consultation with the local P4HG leaders in candidate’s town (When we expand to other towns).
  3. The P4HG Board of Trustees meets and considers the candidate questionnaire and reviews the candidate’s position on P4HG’s Legislative Platform. The Board votes to endorse or not endorse and whether to provide monetary support.

 

VII.      Supporting the Endorsement

 

There are numerous ways to support the endorsement locally.

 

  • Send out a press release - A press release increases visibility for the P4HG PAC, and communicates that P4HG approves of the policies and platform of the candidate.
  • Arrange a meeting with the candidate to officially announce P4HG's endorsement.
  • Include information on an endorsee on our website www.P4HG.org
  • Organize a volunteer night when P4HG supporters can go to the candidate’s campaign headquarters (or fundraising event) to help the candidate get her/his message across (i.e.—operate phone banks, stuff envelopes, pass out flyers, etc.)—Volunteering for a campaign will help build support and guarantee votes for the candidate, and offer P4HG supports a chance to get to know the candidate better. In addition, the volunteer activities will allow the campaign to see P4HG’s grassroots activities in action.
  • Invite a candidate to attend a P4HG event to speak on her/his legislative platform and stance on P4HG’s legislative priorities.
  • Vote! - The most important reason that P4HG supporters should know who P4HG has endorsed is so they will vote for her/him on Election Day!!

 

VIII.      For More Information

For assistance at any time, please contact P4HG at tom@P4HG.org