Candidate Information
PORAC is a ground-up organization. Local, statewide, and federal endorsement requests begin with member associations and proceed through Chapter consideration.
Seeking an Endorsement
Candidates should follow the protocol for the office they seek. Candidates pursuing re-election who previously completed a questionnaire for the same office do not need to submit a new questionnaire.
Local Candidates
Local Candidate QuestionnaireLocal candidates are those who are running in local elections. Examples of a local election include, but are not limited to:
- Sheriff
- Superior Court Judges / District Attorney
- City Council / Mayoral
- School District / Community College Trustee
The following are the steps that must be taken in order to obtain a Valley Chapter endorsement:
- 1.
Obtain an endorsement from at least one Valley Chapter affected member association.
- Do not attempt to contact PORAC or the Valley Chapter for an endorsement. It is up to the affected member associations to approach the Chapter and request endorsements for their endorsed candidates.
- 2.
Complete and submit the Local Candidate Questionnaire online.
- 3.
Attend a Valley Chapter meeting(s) and introduce yourself to the membership, and invite questions from the floor.
- 4.
The affected Chapter member association, which has already endorsed the candidate, must request Chapter endorsement at a Chapter meeting.
- Should a conflict arise between two or more affected member associations, the Chapter may remain neutral and refrain from providing an endorsement.
The Valley Chapter will not endorse a local candidate who has not been brought forth for endorsement by a local member association. PORAC will not endorse a local candidate who has not been endorsed by the Valley Chapter.
Candidates are not permitted to claim that the Valley Chapter or PORAC has endorsed them until they have received an official letter from PORAC announcing the endorsement.
Candidate Questionnaires — A Friendly Reminder
We have discovered that some of our member associations have been directing their candidates (specifically local candidates) to visit the PORAC questionnaire page. The Valley Chapter maintains its own local questionnaire, as the PORAC website does not focus on our local issues. Please remind your candidates to visit vcporac.org/candidate-information.html and select “Local Candidate Questionnaire,” as this is the only accepted questionnaire recognized by the Valley Chapter for local political candidates.
Candidate Questionnaire Archive
As part of a more thorough and responsible vetting process for our candidates, PORAC has developed a questionnaire that is required for all state and federal candidates seeking an endorsement. Here, we will maintain an archive of the questionnaires our candidates have completed. It will allow us to research previous questionnaires to see whether their visions, objectives, and positions have changed. Our hope is to create a more knowledgeable membership, better prepared to endorse or make endorsement recommendations, and to hold our elected officials accountable.
Election Questionnaires
To view the complete list of candidate questionnaires that have been submitted to the Valley Chapter for past and current election cycles, please click on the desired button below.