Staff writer
Posted Aug. 29, 2016 at 8:48 PM
Updated Aug 29, 2016 at 10:29 PM
ROCKFORD — Seven business people, led by SupplyCore CEO Peter Provenzano, have established a political action committee that will bankroll candidates who aspire to put the community's needs above their own and are transparent in their political dealings.
Rockford Regional Good Government PAC was established in May and will start its work in the coming weeks, Provenzano said, as he and others stock the PAC fund with cash.
“We're going to have roughly $100,000 raised within next few weeks,” said Provenzano, who is chairman of the committee. “We're finalizing the initial amounts and asks, and that will all become known as the paperwork is filed. I plan to be supportive of the PAC. I know some of the other board members plan to be supportive as well. Other community members will be engaged, and we hope many others follow. We want to establish a fund that is sustainable, something that lasts longer than me or than any one person.”
The Rockford PAC “embraces the core belief that our community should aspire to elect officials who put the community first, work to employ best practices and are distinguished by characteristics that include incorruptibility, accountability and appreciation for diverse points of view,” according to the group's value statement.
Besides Provenzano, other members of the Rockford PAC board are Workplace Staffing CEO LoRayne Logan; Rockford University Director of Career Development Maurice West II; SockTABs owner Tracie Burress; Montel Technologies owner Ray Montelongo; Reno & Zahm attorney and partner Ian Linnabary; and Bryan Davis, Supplycore vice president of government affairs and community engagement.
“We're going to be paying attention to the positions our elected officials take and gauging the consistency of those positions against what we've identified as our community vision and values,” Provenzano said. “And we'll be paying attention in between campaign cycles, too.”
The Rockford PAC will soon feature an application on its website — rockfordpac.org — that candidates can fill out and submit. The form will give the committee a sense of the candidate's political viewpoints and stance on various issues, Provenzano saod. The committee would then schedule interviews with candidates and determine what level of funding, if any, they'd receive.
The Rockford PAC will support state and local candidates in the Rockford region and may lend its financial support to ballot initiatives, too, Provenzano said. It was not established to support any particular candidate or cause, he said. Provenzano and several other members of the Rockford PAC are active supporters of Transform Rockford, the nonprofit group that aims to make Rockford a top-tier U.S. city by 2025. Though Rockford PAC is not affiliated with Transform Rockford, Provenzano said he and other members of the PAC board embrace the same shared values, which include transparency, showing concern for the welfare of others and reliable communication.
The Rockford PAC's statement of organization notes that all of its money shall be transferred to Transform Rockford in the event that the political action committee is dissolved.
Isaac Guerrero: 815-987-1361; iguerrero@rrstar.com; @isaac_rrs
About Rockford PAC
Go to rockfordpac.org to learn more about the Rockford Regional Good Government Political Action Committee.
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