NBAA: New Online Election-Year Tool Helps Members Be Informed, Involved

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) announced a new "Election 2012" web resource to help the business aviation community be informed and involved in this year's elections.

While NBAA does not endorse any candidate in any race, the intent of the web site is to help Members gather the most pertinent information possible on where candidates stand when it comes to issues impacting business aviation.

"It's an election year, and that means our community has an opportunity not just to make our case for aviation to Congress and hope they decide to be in favor, but an opportunity to help shape Congress itself," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. "The challenges in this election year are clear. Issues like the FAA reauthorization bill, the president's proposed $100 per flight user fee and potential changes to national and local tax policies are on the table. We want to make it easy for NBAA Members to interface with their candidates for elective office, determine where they stand on business aviation, and cast an informed vote."

NBAA’s Election 2012 web resource lays out the following four-step process for learning about candidates running nationally and in each state, voicing the industry's priorities with those candidates and making an informed decision in November:

• Step One: Determine who is running for election. Election 2012 offers brief biographical sketches of the candidates nationally and in each state, including those for president, governor, U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

• Step Two: Determine where the candidates stand on the issues. The resource has links to the candidates’ stands on issues, as well as lists of the members of the House and Senate GA Caucuses, and the governors who have issued proclamations supporting general aviation. 

• Step Three: Let the candidates know where you stand on GA issues. The web resource provides guidance for communicating with candidates, and offers NBAA’s Contact Congress resource for sending messages highlighting the importance of business aviation to members of Congress standing for re-election.

• Step Four: Vote. The Election 2012 resource makes it easy for users to enter their residential addresses and determine their election-day polling location.

"It's clear that our industry is going to face challenges in 2012, but every year also brings with it opportunities," Bolen said. "Let's make this election year an opportunity to ensure that the importance of business aviation is understood by candidates, and that candidates' positions on business aviation are understood by NBAA Members when it’s time to vote."

Visit the online Election 2012 resource at www.nbaa.org/election2012.

Hear a special edition of the NBAA Flight Plan podcast, in which Bolen discusses the new web resource, and the need for the business aviation community to be informed and engaged this election year.