The Fight to Keep Real Estate Essential Matt Clewett

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The Fight to Keep Real Estate Essential

How the Realtors ® Political Action Committee Kept Utah Realtors ® in Business during the COVID-19 economic quarantine.

By Matt Clewett

In mid-March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting every industry in the nation. Hundreds of thousands of businesses were deemed “non-essential” and closed which resulted in millions of employees being laid off. The fear of real estate being deemed nonessential was, at the time, a very real threat. In fact, many locations around the nation did just that and halted all real estate transactions. Hundreds of thousands of Americans were unable to move forward with finding a safe place to live during one of the scariest periods of American history since the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. In the midst of all the fervor, advocates for the real estate industry around the nation, including right here in Salt Lake County, stepped up and worked around the clock to advance the notion that real estate should be classified as an “essential service.” After countless late night phone calls, text messages, zoom conferences, and policy papers, these advocates were able to get our elected leaders in Salt Lake County and the State of Utah affirm that real estate is essential and would not be halted during this outbreak. At the federal level, the National Association of Realtors ® was able to persuade the Department of Homeland Security to include real

estate on the list of essential businesses; thereby ensuring that Americans could continue to find safe places to live and Realtors ® could continue to operate in a safe and responsible way. This process may seem like an open and closed case – a problem arose, Realtor ® advocates addressed it, and the problem was resolved. However, the work to keep real estate essential is an ongoing process that begins much earlier than when an issue arises. It starts with the elections of candidates who are pro-Realtor ® and continues through the relationship building and advocacy work of our professional association advocates. None of these efforts would be possible if not for the Realtors ® Political Action Committee (RPAC).

About RPAC

One of my many responsibilities is to engage with our members about the benefits that the RPAC Committee provides. These benefits range from the broad influence we carry at every level of government to the specific examples of RPAC achievements which better the industry for our association members – an example of which being our fight to keep real estate essential. In general, RPAC gives our membership a significant advantage in the real estate industry that cannot be understated. A little over two years ago, I was hired by the Salt Lake Board of Realtors ® to work as a member of the Government Affairs team. From day one, I was tasked to learn about the history of RPAC and what it actually does for members of the Realtor ® family across the nation. RPAC was founded in 1969 to promote the election of proRealtor ® candidates across the United States. Since that date, it has grown exponentially to become one of the most influential Political Action Committees in the nation. In Utah alone, RPAC has helped hundreds, if not thousands, of candidates run for elected office. To be quite honest, all of this is to be expected. It makes complete sense for members of the association to want to have friendly representatives in elected office. What you may not know, however, is how successful RPAC has been in getting the candidates they support elected to their positions.

Elections

In 2019, the Board had a nearly 90 percent success rate in supporting Realtor ® -backed candidates win elected offices. Let that sink in for a minute: 90 percent of the offices up for grabs in Salt Lake County municipal elections were won by Board-supported candidates. While that figure may not be impressive when there are only a handful of races, it becomes far more notable when there are over two dozen seats that needed to be filled. Much of our success rate has to do with two factors: 1) our RPAC vetting process through candidate interviews conducted by the Government Affairs Elections Subcommittee; and 2) our Government Affairs Director. The Government Affairs Elections Subcommittee conducts interviews of candidates running for political office to determine who is serious and who is not and who will be a champion of Realtor ® issues. It is led by the elections chair and the chair of the Government Affairs Committee and is comprised of volunteer Realtors ® who are invested in the political process. The members take the time necessary to research each of the candidates they will be interviewing and have a better understanding of who the candidate is as a person and a potential elected official. As the numbers clearly show, this committee has been extremely successful at vetting candidates and choosing to support winners. Marcus Jessop, government affairs director, has spent the majority of his professional life working in the campaign field and has excelled in helping RPAC-backed candidates win their elections. He has perfected the art of grassroots campaigning and passes his knowledge of these procedures down to the candidates he works with. While some of these candidates only received minimal financial support, quite a few received full-service campaign help from Marcus and myself. Members of the government affairs team personally assisted with drafting and distributing door hangers, flyers, campaign signs, and mailers on behalf of candidates. Stories and processes such as these are not only happening in Salt Lake Valley in Utah, but rather are also happening all over the nation in nearly every community. This is all thanks to RPAC!

Advocacy

Another aspect of my job which has truly allowed me to realize the importance of RPAC is that of political advocacy. Helping candidates get elected to political offices is one of the most important steps in the process. However, continuing to foster those relationships while working to address matters of concern is a whole different ballgame. In today’s world of NIMBYism (Not in my Back Yard), affordable housing shortages, and fears of new taxes and fees which threaten our industry, being able to have respect and influence is imperative. Before working at the Board, I served as a congressional intern in Washington, D.C., for a Utah congressman and later as the presidential intern for the President of the Utah State Senate. In both of these offices, I was lucky enough

to come into contact with RPAC professional advocates whose job it was to educate elected officials on the issues of the real estate industry and propose solutions to regulatory burdens that may impede the market. What stood out to me the most was how well respected these advocates were. They were knowledgeable about the issues, worked collaboratively and sincerely with the elected officials, and were held in high regard by staff members and other advocates alike. Now that I am one of these professional advocates myself, I have seen first-hand that my experience was not an anomaly. I can’t tell you how many times I have been called up or asked to come speak to a mayor or a city council member about an issue because they value the opinion of the Realtor ® community and respect the power that RPAC possesses. On the flipside, I have never been turned down whenever I have requested to meet with an elected official about certain issues affecting our industry. These officials understand what RPAC brings to the table and recognize the thousands of committed RPAC contributors who understand the value that RPAC provides. The relationships that had been fostered through the elections process were imperative as we fought on behalf of our membership to remain an essential service in the eyes of the state and Salt Lake County. We were able to get in touch with candidates with whom we had supported in past elections and were able to express to these officials why shutting down real estate transactions would have a detrimental effect to the county. This effect would not only be economic, but also would negatively impact public health by depriving individuals and families the opportunity to move to a safe and secure home in which they would be able to ride out this crisis. Without real estate being classified as essential, we could have very well seen a higher level of cases of COVID-19 in Salt Lake County and throughout the state of Utah.

Why I’m becoming a Major Investor

As of writing this article, I am 25 years old and just starting my life, so to speak, in the professional world. I am married to my beautiful wife, Bethany, and we just welcomed our first child into the family on May 24. Like many others out there, I have financial obligations that may prevent me from making any extravagant purchases. I am currently saving to buy a home, investing in my 401 (k), making car repairs, and am now realizing that babies cost a lot. Who knew hospital bills would be so much?! Even after taking all of these costs into account, however, I will still be making a $1,000 RPAC contribution this year. I know that this contribution is an investment in my professional and personal future and will have a rate of return that will not only affect my life, but also that of my newborn child’s.

Investing in RPAC is investing in policy that will make it easier and less expensive to purchase housing.

Investing in RPAC is investing in leaders who will continue to safeguard property rights for current and future generations.

Investing in RPAC is investing in the industry that has given me a livelihood to advocate for good policy.

And, of course, investing in RPAC is investing in myself. Although not everyone is going to become a major investor, everyone can make a contribution to RPAC and invest in themselves. Whether it be $1,000, $100, or even just $15, your investment in RPAC will continue to support the industry we have grown to love and elect leaders who have our best interests at heart. I have personally seen how investments make a huge impact on the world we live in and I can’t wait to see what my investment will do for the future. Overall, the work we have seen in Utah in keeping real estate essential during this crisis was not “open and closed.” It took the tireless efforts of RPAC advocates many years to build up to the point that we had strong allies and relationships in place to ensure that Realtors ® could continue to operate safely. Emergencies, such as what happened with COVID-19, are always going to come up. When they do, having a strong RPAC in place is essential to keeping the real estate industry moving forward. When the next crisis eventually does come about, RPAC will be there to address it head on.

Matthew Clewett is the Public Policy Director of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors ® . He is a member of the Utah Housing GAP Coalition, a Board member of YIMBY Utah, and a proud father of a one month old baby girl. He holds a degree in Law and Constitutional Studies from Utah State University and has served worked in the United States House of Representatives and the Utah State Senate. To contact Matt, please email him at matt@slrealtors.com.