Let's amplify our voices through TBA BankPac

In January, this column was devoted to the exciting political year that 2020 is shaping up to be. If you’ll remember, I asked that you learn about the candidates running for office in your area because, as community leaders, bankers have an obligation to participate in the political process. I also asked that you mobilize yourselves and your staff and directors in the weeks leading up to Super Tuesday because of the long-term consequences this year’s elections will have on the Texas banking industry.

As I sit down to write this article, early voting for the March primary begins in a few days, and I’m very hopeful that voter turnout, especially among Texas bankers, is higher than normal on Super Tuesday. If you did not vote in the primary, however, don’t give up on the rest of the election!

I say this for a couple of reasons. First, if your local race for Congress, the Texas House or the Texas Senate goes to a run-off, Texas law provides that you can vote in the run-off election even if you didn’t vote in the primary. Second, with the primary behind us, all of our attention should turn to the November elections as we educate ourselves on where the general election candidates stand on banking and business issues. Finally, once we’ve educated ourselves on where candidates stand on banking issues, we need to be sure we financially support their campaigns in an effort to realize their success on Nov. 3.

For Texas bankers, TBA BankPac is the most effective way to support candidates. By pooling our financial resources — in the form of individual contributions to TBA BankPac — bankers can amplify our voices and give candidates more meaningful political contributions than we can give individually.

The reason for TBA BankPac is really that simple, and TBA has made donating to the BankPac equally uncomplicated. There are a variety of ways to donate to TBA BankPac: online at http://bit.ly/BankPac, via check payable to TBA BankPac, ACH or payroll deduction. All contributions, regardless of the amount, are welcome and very much needed. TBA BankPac represents the collective voice of the Texas banking industry, and every voice has the equal right to be heard.

Your TBA staff and Board of Directors recognize the importance of amplifying bankers’ political voices this year and demonstrating our political muscularity, so in an effort to increase TBA’s political reach, the TBA staff was recently expanded to include Wynn Baker, who joined the Legal Department as PAC & Advocacy coordinator late last year.

Wynn’s job is to help TBA’s members participate in the political process, both through activating, for the first time, the network of more than 150,000 bankers we have across the state and through helping TBA’s members join TBA BankPac.

Wynn has hit the ground running since coming on board, and she has put together toolkits to help banks run BankPac campaigns and social media campaigns for bankers wishing to educate others about their local elections. I strongly encourage you to email her at wynn@ texasbankers.com and ask for her assistance as you develop your political action plan for the year.

Banker involvement in the 2020 elections is critically important and I cannot stress that enough. Your staff at the Texas Bankers Association is implementing a political plan to ensure our voices are heard across the state. They are creating tools to help bankers become and remain engaged. Alongside local banker constituents, they are delivering BankPac dollars to pro-banking, pro-business candidates.

It’s my sincere desire that you avail yourself of all of the resources they are offering. Nov. 3 will be here before we know it. We cannot afford to simply sit on the sidelines and watch it happen; we have to make it happen, as the future of our industry depends upon it!