Nobu Hata

By Nobu Hata

This summer, against my wife’s better judgment (sorry hon), I decided to take the plunge into the REALTORS® Political Action Committee’s President’s Circle.  Basically, after giving at the local level, I’m contributing $2,000 of my hard-earned cash directly to industry-friendly politicians’ political campaigns.

Say what?

I had many reasons to do it, and if you told me just a few years ago I’d be piping money to anything, other than my bank account, much less a politician, I’d have smacked you in the mouth.  But among them was the Flood Insurance issue that has, again, reared its ugly head.  An issue that has hit home for my state, and frankly, ticked me off.  I’m not politically savvy to fight for this on my own, nor do I have the stomach to sit in any politician’s presence right now, so I thought that money would be the best way for me to talk.

Once I told people in D.C. (I talked to Brooke Roth and Chris Nave, RPAC fundraising representatives at NAR) of my intention to give, I got a slick email with the name and party affiliation of politicians who have made the RPAC trustees’ cut-list, PLUS a low-down of what they did to get them there.

Lo and behold there were Republicans AND Democrats from across the country who have been fighting our fight on their local and national platforms.  One was even a former REALTOR® – a huge bonus.  It took me weeks to run through the list, to decide who would get some cash, and in the end, it was two Democrats and two Republicans who got it.

Man, I’ve gotta’ tell you, the process was enlightening, and it was a pretty damn cool way to actually contribute to the forces that keep the rest of my cash going into my bank account, regardless of party lines.

But do you have to fork over cash to become part of the process?  Nope.  See the link above, referencing the Flood Insurance issue?  Click on it and submit the Call to Action.  You’ll be glad you did!

Nobu Hata is a sales associate for Edina Realty in Minneapolis, and a founding member of the Minneapolis YPN group, the YoPros. Visit his Web site at www.nobuhata.com.