by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Nick Bokone, director of political activities for the Florida Association of Realtors®, said getting involved in politics is more important than you may think.
“There are those who think politics is not that interesting of a topic or not that important,” said Bokone at the St. Augustine Board of Realtor® meeting last month. “But, I would submit to you that there are things at the local level, state level and national level that affect every moment of our lives. It is something that if we don’t participate in, we will be legislated right out of business.”
Bokone said that legislature affects your daily lives.
“Charles de Gaulle, former prime minister of France, once said that ‘Politics is too important to leave in the hands of politicians’. What he meant by that saying is that, it affects your daily life. It’s something you should pay attention to.”
He explained that locally, with all the different municipalities in St. Johns County, that the real estate agents probably have run into some trouble with things such as sign ordinances.
“I’m sure you’ve had difficulty with some of the various local municipalities and those are the things the your local governmental affairs office can work on,” he said, “when we get involved with candidates for mayor or city council. Those are the type of things that your Realtor® Political Action Committee (RPAC) dollars go to. When we sit down and talk to candidates, we talk to them about real estate issues.”
He said when they do receive recommendations from the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR) that shows which candidates are receiving funds from RPAC or support from the association, that doesn’t mean they have to vote for them.
“Feel free to vote your conscience. That’s one of the foundations our country is based upon, but if you do care about how they stand on real estate issues you can look to your local association for that,” said Bokone.
Bokone touched on one of FAR’s talking points in the upcoming legislative session—the proposed four percent sales tax on real estate commission.
“We will talk about how that will be ultimately bad for the consumer,” he said. “All those other affiliated services associated with a real estate closing would be subject to a four percent sales tax as well. This is not in the best interest of the business community and it is not in the best interest of the real estate industry.”
He said that as time passes, the bill will change, but their message will remain the same.
“A sales tax on services is not right now in the best interest of the real estate community,” said Bokone. “That’s the reason we stay involved.”
He said that RPAC money goes to two things.
“It goes to candidates and it goes to issues,” he said. “We talked about candidate screening and we go to those people and sit down and talk to them about real estate issues and that when we make our recommendations. The money goes to Republicans, Democrats and sometimes even Independents. It goes to the people that are most likely to allow us the opportunity to make our case, when a case needs to be made. It does not go to buy a politician’s votes in any way shape or form.”
He said they are legally mandated in how much they can give a candidate as a functioning political action committee.
“We can give $500 per election cycle, per entity,” he said.
Bokone asked State Rep. Doug Wiles, who was also present at the meeting, how much it costs to run a campaign for the Florida House.
His answer: $200,000.
“It costs money to communicate in today’s society,” said Bokone. “That’s a fact. The money we give does not buy votes. If we give $500 or $1,000 per election, nobody is in your pocket.”
Bokone said that FAR has 80,000 members statewide and they’ll do more than give money.
“When we support a candidate, we want you to help them with phone calls and soliciting contributions,” he said. “It’s not just a right to participate in government; it’s a responsibility. My dad always said if you don’t vote, then you can’t complain. It works that way in the association as well. If you care about the representation, if you care about how the real estate industry is receiving representation, make sure you tell that to RPAC in the form of a check.”