I read Heather Anderson's article regarding presidential candidates being CU friendly (CU Times, April 16, 2008, page 22) with a great deal of interest, and I would like to comment on what I feel were good comments on Senator Hillary Clinton's position toward credit unions and expand on that a little more. I have had a very close relationship with Senator Clinton's office since I met one of her staff members at our Rochester, N.Y.'s Legislative Night on Sept. 17, 2001. I remember the date because it was only six days after one of the nation's greatest tragedies, yet her staff person honored her commitment to attend our meeting. It was clearly a sign of things to come.
As a former NAFCU board member and past chair, I have had the opportunity to work with many government officials in regulatory positions and elected offices on both sides of the aisle with great success. I have learned that credit unions have many friends on both sides of the aisle and that is a good thing for the industry. I am not partial to either party, and I think that I can make fair judgments about a person's abilities and his or her office's commitment to credit union issues.
While Ms Anderson's article was well taken, it sounded a little like it was difficult to get meetings with Senator Clinton or her staff. Senator Clinton has been more than open to credit union officials and issues during her time as a U.S. Senator from New York. We have had not one, or two, but several face-to-face meetings with her, and in fact she was more than pleased to work with us on some partnerships within New York with regard to some issues that we are all concerned with, as part of her commitment to the Partnering and Leadership Successes meeting here in Rochester.
First, Senator Clinton not only supported our underserved lending initiative, but her staff had a key role in developing the program with a few N.Y. credit union leaders. Secondly, through a connection with Senator Clinton's office, we collaborated with a company called Micro Biz New York to learn more about micro lending, and small business lending and held seminars for credit unions in New York on this issue. Beyond that, I believe that she was the only U.S. Senator to ever keynote a PALS meeting and it was a fantastic day with a huge attendance. Her presence highlighted the event, and the result was that more CU leaders than ever got to hear about the issues of serving the underserved and the mechanisms with which to do so.
In our meetings with Senator Clinton she told us that she would favor larger community charters if it meant that urban-based CUs could reach out to farmers in upstate N.Y. to make agricultural loans, as these individuals have been abandoned because the small banks that used to serve them in many cases have been merged into larger banks that have either moved out of the area or changed lending standards. She told us that there is a huge void in the area of small business lending that could be filled by credit unions as well.
Mike Vadala
President/CEO
The Summit Federal Credit Union
Rochester, N.Y.
Finally, I would add this: Senator Clinton's staff is the best legislative staff that I have ever dealt with. They are prepared, they listen and they take action. When the senator comes into a meeting with 25 credit union people, you would think that credit unions are the only thing she has to worry about all day. She has been properly briefed, her staff has tied our issues together for her and she speaks as intelligently about credit unions as just about any elected official that I have ever met with. I never felt that she talked down to us or that she was not listening to what we were saying. Every meeting felt like a very down to earth conversation with a very intelligent and competent individual. And most of all, an individual who really loves what credit unions stand for and are doing.
Personally I have not had the opportunity to meet Senator John McCain or Senator Barack Obama, and I was pleased to hear that they are also credit union friendly, but I cannot imagine that they could or would be as supportive as Senator Clinton has been and will continue to be. If somehow the election allows that she is in the White House, it is my opinion that credit union people can rest assured that our issues will be heard and supported like never before. Regardless of what other personal politics motivate your readers, I think it is fair to say that Hillary Clinton is an excellent credit union candidate.
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