Ohio Restaurant PAC

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Tell Us What You Know About the Ohio Restaurant PAC

The Ohio Restaurant Association (ORA) is interested in understanding how familiar you are with the Ohio Restaurant Political Action Committee (PAC). Please CLICK HERE to take a few minutes to complete this short survey. Thank you! 

Every Member Matters

Minimum wage...smoking ban...mandatory sick leave...menu labeling...and now health care. Some politicians think your business is just a tool to solve society's problems.

We disagree.

ORA needs to play a more prominent role in the elections of people who vote on laws that impact our business. Ohio Restaurant PAC is designed to do just that.

Some are able to invest more than others, but all ORA members can contribute something.

Why should YOU send a check?

  • The Ohio Restaurant PAC analyzes how laws will affect YOU because a simple regulation from a well-intentioned bureaucrat can wreck your business.
  • The Ohio Restaurant PAC gives YOU a powerful voice with lawmakers to help them understand the challenges of operating a restaurant.
  • The Ohio Restaurant PAC protects YOU because it is the first line of defense against legislation that imposes unnecessary government regulations on foodservice operations.
  • The Ohio Restaurant PAC fights for YOU by supporting pro-restaurant, pro-business candidates for the Ohio General Assembly, from both political parties.

To contribute a one-time contribution online, CLICK HERE. To complete a mail-only pledge card that allows for automatic, monthly contributions, CLICK HERE. You can also send a personal check, payable to Ohio Restaurant PAC, 1525 Bethel Rd, #201, Columbus, OH 43220.

Our mission

To capture the political power of Ohio's second largest private sector employer to elect candidates for public office who support positions on issues critical to the success of Ohio's foodservice industry.

Why a PAC?

There is strength in numbers. A political action committee (PAC) provides a practical and powerful means for the restaurant industry to pool resources to maximize the impact our financial contributions have on the electoral and legislative process. In other words, it makes it more likely that we can help elect pro-business and pro-restaurant lawmakers and that our message and positions on issues will be more effectively communicated to the 132 members of the Ohio General Assembly.

What exactly are we fighting for?

  • JobsOhio-strongly supported Governor Kasich's vision of a new, revitalized Department of Development to reinvigorate Ohio's economy.
  • Paid Sick Leave-As a leader in a statewide coalition, helped persuade proponents of an expensive paid sick leave mandate to withdraw their ballot initiative.
  • Ignition Interlock-Helped stop legislation that would have mandated the imposition of ignition interlock devices on all first time OVI offenders, which would depress legal and responsible social drinking
  • Taxes and Fees-Helped keep new restaurant taxes and fees out of the state's 2010-2011 budget.
  • Liquor Permit Transfers-Blocked 2 pieces of legislation that would have significantly lowered the economic value of restaurants with liquor permits.
  • Sunday Alcohol Sales-Changed state law to allow members to sell wine and spirits beginning at 11:00 am instead of 1:00 pm on Sundays, putting restaurants on a level playing field with competitors.
  • Workers' Compensation-Working with a business coalition to fight for continued discounts for members in ORA's group rating program.
  • Smoking Ban Exemptions-Continued to stall persistent efforts to add exemptions to the statewide smoking ban that would create competitive disadvantages for most members.
  • Regulatory Reform-Supporting legislation that will streamline the State's regulatory process.  Importantly, proposed regulations will now have to pass a small business cost/benefit analysis.
  • Building Relationships-Strengthening ORA's relationships with state regulatory agencies and among allied interest groups, expanding the industry's political influence.

Who can contribute?

ORA members and others interested in furthering the foodservice industry may contribute to our PAC. Ohio Law prohibits corporate contributions, so only personal contributions are allowed. However, Ohio law does not consider LLCs, sole proprietorships or partnerships to be corporations for the purposes of the campaign finance laws. Thus, LLCs, sole proprietorships and partnerships are allowed to contribute to the Ohio Restaurant PAC.

Criteria for making candidate contributions

The PAC Committee makes campaign contributions on a non-partisan basis. The criteria used to determine which candidates to support and the amount of that financial support includes:

  1. available funds,
  2. the candidate's voting record on issues impacting foodservice,
  3. the degree to which a candidate supports minimal government interference in business operations (may be based on candidate questionnaires),
  4. the candidate's relationship with ORA members,
  5. our perception of whether the candidate is approachable and open-minded,
  6. the candidate's leadership skills, and
  7. his or her electability.

How to make your investment

  • Online- CLICK HERE to give a contribution online.
  • Pledge Card- CLICK HERE to complete a mail-only card that will allow you to make automatic, monthly contributions through charges to your personal credit card or draft from your personal checking account. Once you've completed the fillable fields, simply print the document and send it to the address on the card. 
  • Check- Your personal check can be made payable to Ohio Restaurant PAC and mailed to the address below.

Questions?

ORA staffFor more information about ORA's government affairs program, contact me at 614-246-0130 or rmason@ohiorestaurant.org. 

 

Richard Mason
ORA Director of Government Affairs