Candidate Endorsements

The Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce is committed to prioritizing legislative advocacy to influence and shape public policy helping to create a healthy, business-friendly community, region, and state. Part of that advocacy includes making endorsements for business-friendly candidates and ballot proposals. It is something the Chamber takes very seriously, so a careful vetting process helps ensure due diligence on the part of the Chamber Board of Directors.

As a policy, the Chamber does not endorse candidates in primaries believing that primaries are a function of the parties to select their own candidates. The only exception to this policy is if the primary will determine the winner of the position. In that case, the Chamber will consider candidates who request endorsement and have them follow the standard vetting process used for general election candidates.

Once Primaries are over, the Chamber invites all candidates to complete a questionnaire targeted at determining their platform on issues of interest to business. All those who complete the questionnaire and return it to the Chamber by the due date are then eligible for a face-to-face interview with the Chamber’s Screening and Endorsement Committee, an ad hoc committee made up of members of the Board of Directors, public policy employees of Chamber-member companies, and issue experts.

Following all interviews, the Screening and Endorsement Committee makes a recommendation to the full Board of Directors to either endorse, not endorse, or stay neutral for each candidate and issue seeking endorsement. The Board discusses each endorsement request and then votes. The decisions are made solely by the Board of Directors which is made up of Chamber-member representatives. Chamber staff do not vote.

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For questions about the endorsement process or to seek Chamber endorsement, contact Eugene Seals, Jr. at
989-757-2112