(May 8, 2006) The importance of creating a pro-jobs, employer-friendly majority in the Legislature cannot be understated as we look to build momentum for California’s economic turnaround. This election cycle is especially significant because of the large number of open legislative seats up for grabs.

The June primary is our first shot, in a one-two punch, to secure this majority position. It sets the stage for how successful we can ultimately be in the November general elections - the more wins we tally in the primaries, the more likely we’ll be of achieving a majority who will support our pro-jobs reforms.

Frank Washington, chair of the California Chamber Fundraising Committee.

Highlighting recent efforts from the California Chamber’s legislative advocacy team illustrates the opportunity at hand if we are to gain this majority. The team has worked hard in stopping bad legislation aligned with the "job killer" agenda.

In 2005, bills to enact minimum wage increases with automatic indexing, business property tax increases, vehicle user taxes, port fees and employer-paid health care were among those ultimately vetoed or otherwise stopped. The net effect spared employers more than $29 billion in negative economic impact.

But that’s only half the story. Sponsoring good legislation - such as workers’ compensation reform, transportation funding, air quality/alternative fuels legislation and tourism funding - made the "Total Legislative Return" even more impressive last year, climbing to more than $49 billion.

There lies the importance of the task at hand: building a pro-jobs majority in the Legislature enables a shift in posture - from defensive to offensive - to sponsor more legislation that expands the job base.

ChamberPAC, the Chamber’s bipartisan political action committee, is aggressively working to enable this shift in this election cycle. Charged with identifying and supporting business-friendly candidates in campaigns with significant election potential, ChamberPAC has an 82 percent success rate of ensuring they have the resources to shout their jobs-focused messages and sway voters.

But building visibility and momentum for candidates who’ll champion creating jobs and foster a healthy business climate is not an easy task, especially given the overflowing war chest of the job-killer opposing forces.

We’re urging you to reinvest just a portion of the $3,782 per employee your business has realized in Total Legislative Return to help us in the battle. By contributing to ChamberPAC, you’ll be assisting business-friendly candidates campaign and win in competitive races throughout the state.

Even if these races are outside of your district, ChamberPAC provides a unique opportunity for you to pool your resources with those of like-minded employers and maximize the business community’s impact on the 2006 elections.

Time is of the essence, however, and we’re urgently soliciting your contributions. The June primaries are just around the corner and ramping up for the November general elections needs to start now if we expect to win!

To learn more about ChamberPAC, or to contribute online, visit www.calchamber.com/chamberpac. Please direct any questions to Michele Zschau at (916) 444-6670 or e-mail michele.zschau@calchamber.com.