Edgewood Chamber On The Lam?

by John Weckerle

The local newspapers are abuzz this week with news and commentary on the recent move on the part of the Edgewood Chamber of Commerce to – well, move.

At the heart of the issue are expressions of concern from a number of sources, including NM-Central.com, that the Edgewood Chamber has been perhaps more involved in politics than some might consider appropriate.  Much of the current brouhaha seems to revolve around recent concerns associated with a “meet and greet” function for Republican candidates – Jim Smith and Tom Mullins – running for State Representative and Congress, respectively.  Some current and past Town officials have expressed reservations regarding these functions, suggesting that the Edgewood Chamber’s actions in this arena, and actually conducting events supporting those candidates in office space provided by the Town, represent a de facto endorsement of the candidates by an organization that is receiving public funding in the form of free office space.  One of the candidates counters that the Chamber announced a “meet and greet” event for his opponent.  A local Tea Party activist and Chamber booster alleges violations of the Chamber’s First Amendment rights.  A person or persons unknown attach a not-too-recently deceased skunk to the Town office with what appears to be 50 tubes of Krazy Glue.  Panic ensues.

Only some of this is true (the skunk part and mass hysteria aren’t), but there’s much more to the story(ies)…

Let us dispense as quickly as possible with the First Amendment foolishness.  To my knowledge, nobody has taken official action to prevent the Chamber from expressing views on politics or endorsing candidates.  Lease issues aside, concerns have been raised as to whether holding campaign functions for candidates – for either side or both – in space provided by the Town is appropriate.  Some have expressed opinions – which we share – that this is not an appropriate use of Town-provided space or something in which the Chamber should engage.  As students of recent history, we’re not surprised to see the Town government expressing concerns about this kind of issue (although we still believe they were wrong last time), and the Chamber should have seen the problem coming. The long-and-short of it is simply this: the Chamber is free to express its views, but it is subject to limitations on the use of its office space imposed by those who provide the office space.

We’d also like to get beyond the pretense that this is all about a single “meet and greet” function.  We’ve run articles regarding the Chamber’s political activities (here and here).  It has been our opinion that the Edgewood Chamber’s direct involvement in opposing Cap-and-Trade legislation, right or wrong, was not an appropriate use of Chamber resources and not within the appropriate realm of activities for any Chamber of Commerce, much less a small-town one.  We similarly took issue with the Chamber’s endorsement and promotion of a Republican organization-sponsored “course” on the Constitution, provided by a conservative organization that espouses some rather creative (and, in our view, historically unsupportable) views on the separation of church and state.  After the latter of those articles, we received a call from a Town official, who did not speak on the record, who expressed deep concern regarding the Chamber’s political activities and discomfort regarding those activities in the context of receiving support from the Town in the form of office space.  We will note that this was not a former Town official.  Again, we believe that Chambers of Commerce should be focused on commerce, and that local Chambers of Commerce should be focused on local commerce. Not politics.

Of substantial interest is the issue raised by former Edgewood Town Council member Glenn Felton regarding the Chamber’s political activities.  Mr. Felton correctly points out that the Chamber, as a 501(c)(6) organization, is not proscribed from endorsing political candidates or involving itself in political activity, but also notes that engaging in such activities raises questions regarding the extent to which it is doing so when compared to the balance of its activities.  He also raises the issue that the Chamber’s activities of this nature may not be in the best interests of, or have the support of, all its membership.  By involving itself in political advocacy, much of it potentially partisan or one-sided (see above and below), the Chamber risks IRS entanglement and alienation of part of its membership, not to mention public image problems.   Further, it is hard to ignore the fact that backing a losing candidate can make for a tough relationship with his or her successful opponent.  From this standpoint alone, we consider the Edgewood Chamber’s activities foolhardy.

We do take issue with the Chamber’s assertion that it does not “favor any particular candidate or party,” as asserted by Edgewood Chamber of Commerce president Tony Scott in an August 19 Mountain View Telegraph article.   The Chamber’s advocacy actions have certainly leaned toward Republican Party and or “tea party” positions.  Mr. Smith – and we want to make it clear that your editor likes Mr. Smith and appreciates his community service – is a Republican and an enthusiastic supporter of the “tea party.”  So, apparently, is Mr. Mullins.  The aforementioned “constitutional course” was sponsored by the East Mountain Federated Republican Women’s Group.  Opposition to regulations limiting greenhouse gases is a hallmark of Republican Party and “tea party” political platforms.  Agree with the positions or not, the Edgewood Chamber has clearly moved in a particular direction in the political arena.

As indicated in the aforementioned Telegraph article, “the Chamber will no longer serve as a tourist center.”    We find ourselves wondering just what benefits the Chamber will be offering to the business community – much of which gains revenue from passers-by – once it moves to an undisclosed location.  As it stands, it is perhaps difficult to escape at least the suspicion that, now that it is about to be free of limitations associated with public support,  the Edgewood Chamber of Commerce has shaken off its identity as a local business organization in favor of becoming a political one.

We would like to advise the Mountain View Telegraph that their 8/19 article appears incorrect in one respect; the One Stop Office owned by Edgewood Chamber president Tony Scott is located in Tijeras, and not Edgewood; we have been unable to confirm the existence of a satellite location in Edgewood.

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