Electing Appleseeders

[Francis Marion]

An increasing number of Americans has passed through our program.   

How can this organization assist Appleseed alumni in their efforts to get elected?

As an organization, what can we do, what can we not do?

A close friend and Appleseeder is preparing a campaign for a local elected office, and to the extent that we can help, let's do that. 

Will give name, place, details when the announcement is made publicly.

[colycat]

I think we should keep this thread going.  Name the Names of the seeder's who are running and where.  I know if we had a member who was running for election around here, we would volunteer to help with the campaign, literature drops, phone calls, what ever is needed.

Good idea

[Francis Marion]

Folks,

A close friend, Clinton Parish, is running for the office of Superior Court Judge of Yolo County, CA. 

Clinton is a US Army veteran, Deputy DA, man of faith and family, and attended the first Sac Valley Appleseed.   

I am very proud to call him a friend. 

If you'd like to reach Clinton to learn more about his beliefs and values, email to:

  clintparishforjudge@yahoo.com

Edit to add link:
http://parishforjudge.com/




News features re. campaign start:

  http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/22/3929085/prosecutor-to-challenge-sitting.html

  http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/crime-fire-courts/deputy-da-challenges-sitting-judge-in-june-election/

[desertrat144]

An increasing number of Americans has passed through our program.   
How can this organization assist Appleseed alumni in their efforts to get elected?
As an organization, what can we do, what can we not do? F. Marion at 1

It's great that folks that have passed through AS are taking the (new?) 10^th step and running for office.

As a 501(c)(3) Corporation, we are supposed to be Politically Neutral but as the political atmosphere seems to be in flux, this may be best answered by Fred and/or the Steering Committee, as Fred was a 'Guest Speaker' at some events, his research of where the lines are should still be valid.

Organizationally, IRS writes the rules of what can & can't be done as Appleseed campaigning- don't wear AS marked attire at rallies,  functions, &c., the same for Voter Registration drives, blank Voter Registrations [I believe] can be made available at AS, but that's it- no offers to deliver completed forms, no helping to fill out forms- very basic neutral answers may be acceptable, but considering who has oversight on activities, you're tap dancing in a mine field. 

Also beware of pictures being taken at Gun Shows and other events when 7^th stepping, as they may become part of a political campaign an election cycle or two down the road.  When you're wearing AS Organizational marked clothing in a public venue, there is no expectations of privacy, roughly translated- you can ask someone to not use or take or image, or voice, but its just that- you are just asking them to do you a favor.  

Organizationally, I'll ask Fred to post the Rules of Engagement  (ROEs).  There was an effort to give general do/don't guidelines, but due to an absence, I'm not sure what finally happened.

The mentioning of folks that are AS alumni and what offices the are running for should be OK as long as its a FYI type announcement, again, that's Fred, Steering Committee, and past Political ROE codification efforts.

My $0.02 worth.
Tom

[Patent guy]

Agree, Tom, especially on the the 501c3 tax issue.
Our eligibility under 501c3 depends on our conduct and we cannot risk losing 501c3 eligibility, especially in this fiscal environment.

See, for example:

http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=120703,00.html

[Fred]

...as Fred was a 'Guest Speaker' at some events, his research of where the lines are should still be valid.

     This was a one-time invite to a T-party convention which was not held. My sole and only purpose in going was to carry the AS-message to people who may not have heard it. Rightly or wrongly, I did not view it as "political", as I'd be willing to talk to a group of Republicans or Democrats. Everyone is entitled to hear the AS message, in my view - and should hear it!

Organizationally, IRS writes the rules of what can & can't be done as Appleseed campaigning- don't wear AS marked attire at rallies,  functions, &c., the same for Voter Registration drives, blank Voter Registrations [I believe] can be made available at AS, but that's it- no offers to deliver completed forms, no helping to fill out forms- very basic neutral answers may be acceptable, but considering who has oversight on activities, you're tap dancing in a mine field. 

    Yes, it's true that you're tap-dancing in a mine field with thousands of regulations out there, but I believe we still have freedom to pick and choose our clothing when we are acting as individuals, and not as a part of Appleseed as an organization per se.

Also beware of pictures being taken at Gun Shows and other events when 7^th stepping, as they may become part of a political campaign an election cycle or two down the road.  When you're wearing AS Organizational marked clothing in a public venue, there is no expectations of privacy, roughly translated- you can ask someone to not use or take or image, or voice, but its just that- you are just asking them to do you a favor.  

     Since I don't believe a photo taken in a public place can ever "enlist" you in a political campaign solely because someone using an image of you in a T-shirt, I repeat that IMHO we still are at liberty to pick out clothing when we are acting as individuals.

Organizationally, I'll ask Fred to post the Rules of Engagement  (ROEs).  There was an effort to give general do/don't guidelines, but due to an absence, I'm not sure what finally happened.

The mentioning of folks that are AS alumni and what offices the are running for should be OK as long as its a FYI type announcement, again, that's Fred, Steering Committee, and past Political ROE codification efforts.

My $0.02 worth.
Tom

    Tom, you're showing your age in this outfit - it's the Advisory Board, these days, not the SteerCom, which is part of the past in AS. But your post is spot-on in pointing out we need to be cautious in what we say and do, when it comes to anything political.

    FM, your original question deserves a comment. As we reach closer to 2016, some of us are already thinking about "the End Game" of AS. What do we do, when we have big enough numbers in the program, to get serious about implementing a corrective change in America's course?

    Here's a possible list, some of them we can start work on now, if we can find a volunteer with the interest:

    1. Encouraging ASers to not only vote and contact their reps, but to understand, they need to run for office.

     2. Develop a handbook/resources to help them in running/winning a campaign.

     3. Ultimately, a possible PAC-spinoff somewhat like NRA-ILA (obviously, this one will be several years in the future - but things in this program sometimes move pretty fast).

    As DR144 and PG point out, this is a tricky area. I think we're absolutely safe in encouraging Americans to run for office.

     We're absolutely safe in providing "how to get elected" info to all comers who want to run for office.

     The ILA concept will have to be vetted by some pretty sharp lawyers beforehand, as it is definitely something where we want to have the "i"s crossed.

    Meantime, individual ASers, as individuals, are free to work/campaign for anyone they choose. Absolutely.

    And, definitely, we need to start on the ROE.

    PG, feel free to take exception to any of the above which goes too far in your opinion.

[Patent guy]

IMO, we can and should copy what others already do well. 
Lets emulate well-run organizations, and lets plagiarize as much as we can, when it comes to ideas for maintaining 501C3 status.
The structure of the NRA and the NRA-ILA are likely to be something we should understand and probably model.
We can also look at how the Mayo Clinic, for example, participates in the healthcare debate.
Did True Believer or Big H publish a comment or guidelines from the IRS code about the limits 501C3 organizations must follow?
I seem to remember that we cannot endorse a specific candidate or a specific political party and cannot spend RWVA monies on those activities.

[TruTenacity]

Did True Believer or Big H publish a comment or guidelines from the IRS code about the limits 501C3 organizations must follow?

I didn't.  May it was Big H.

[TruTenacity]

Did True Believer or Big H publish a comment or guidelines from the IRS code about the limits 501C3 organizations must follow?

I didn't.  Maybe it was Big H.

I did some looking around and I found what Patent guy was probably alluding to.  It's over on TIPS FAQ under "Appleseed Mission and Standards"
http://appleseedinfo.org/tips/faq.php#mission10

The last Q&A in the bank of questions has a link called "Appleseed and Politics".  Make certain you click on it for further information regarding this topic.