Advocacy

The Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce serves as a leading business voice on public policy and advocates on behalf of our members to ensure the business perspective is heard.  By having a strong role in advocacy, Chamber staff and volunteer leaders do the day-to-day work that many business people simply do not have time to do. Many members – especially small businesses - do not have the time to keep up on issues – much less speak out on them.

Our Government Affairs Committee (GAC) plays a key role in our advocacy work and determining issues and policies important to businesses in our region.  We continually stay informed and engaged, educating our members and organizing coalitions as necessary to speak with a common voice on key issues for businesses.

Key roles and responsibilities of the GAC include:

  • Recommend priority issues to the Board of Directors about which issues are priorities.
  • Monitor public policy proposals introduced at governments in the region.
  • Evaluate proposed and existing public policies to determine if they promote member success and regional economic growth (or undermine member success and regional economic growth). Then, adopt formal positions on those policies.
  • Promote awareness of official Chamber positions to members through electronic bulletins such as the "Prosperity Update" in the Chamber Connection and encourage members to petition their governments on priority issues.
  • Promote awareness of official Chamber positions to elected officials, government staff, candidates, the news media, and the general public in the region.
  • Work in conjunction with other organizations through coalitions on common issues.
  • Assist in coordination of the Chamber's annual Leadership Luncheon, in which elected officials of the region inform Chamber members about their positions on public policies.
  • Assist the Chamber's Candidate Review Committee to develop criteria for the evaluation of candidates and the endorsement of candidates for public office in the region.
  • Encourage Chamber members to seek elected or appointed public offices in the region.

In addition to our GAC, our Chamber has a locally based Government Affairs Liaison to assist with these roles and responsibilities. The current Government Affairs Liaison has more than 30 years of professional experience in public policy and began working on behalf of the Chamber in April 2016. Having a Government Affairs Liaison adds great value to the services we provide our diverse membership.

The top five issues the GAC and our Government Affairs Liaison are focused on include:

  1. Ensuring a Long-Term Sustainable Water Supply
  2. Housing Affordability for Local Workforce - A Balanced Choice of Options
  3. Quality of Life Issues, Especially Projection of Monterey Bay
  4. Transportation Improvements
  5. Promoting Military Capabilities of Existing Bases