Election Watch 2006
Credit Union Political Spotlight
Mary Cunningham
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Like the majority of credit union folks, Mary spent the first two-thirds of her 31 year career on the outside of politics. She knew who the activists were in our industry, and respected what they were doing, but didn’t feel personally compelled to become involved. For many years Mary felt that lobbying was to be done by the leagues and the trade associations. All she needed to do was attend the Governmental Affairs Conference once a year and do a photo-op with her Congressman.
Mary’s first real involvement in the political world happened while she was CEO of CUNA Credit Union in Madison, WI. She had several occasions to accompany league staff on visits to state and federal legislators and push for credit union legislation. One day Mary received a call from her Wisconsin League lobbyist asking if she would consider hosting a fundraiser in her home for Democratic U.S. Senator Russ Feingold’s re-election. Senator Feingold is a strong proponent of campaign reform as well as a good credit union friend and was going throughout the state raising funds from individuals and home gatherings. They had met earlier and Mary found she agreed with many of the things he stood for, so she consented to host the fundraiser. That was the beginning of her real involvement.
Mary and Senator Feingold grew to be great friends and she enjoyed a great working relationship with him. Mary also hosted two fundraisers for Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin from Wisconsin. Mary found out she was good at it—and also found out that they were genuinely appreciative of her efforts. She also discovered that after she helped them, they were always eager to hear from her and talk about her issues. Her newfound involvement opened up more doors of communication than she ever would have thought possible.
Congressman Bob Filner, Democrat representative for San Diego and Imperial Counties, is a longtime supporter of credit unions and was one of the original co-sponsors of HR 1151 and CURIA. He was facing a tough opponent recently this year—a well known state legislator named Juan Vargas. Because Filner’s district has a large Latino population, there was huge concern that Vargas would be a tough opponent. And it was also widely known that his campaign was being bankrolled by the bankers.
Mary had hosted two fundraisers for Bob Filner in ’04 and ’05 raising over $55,000 and there was concern about donor fatigue if they went back a third year. So, Mary and other credit union CEOs decided to host a series of "Meet and Greets’ for Filner using credit union branches located in his voting district. Mary enlisted the support of the CEO’s of eleven credit unions in San Diego and Imperial County to host Filner for Friday lunchtime receptions during busy paydays. Filner and his wife, Jane, referred to them as "Friend-raisers", very low key, no fundraising. The idea was so that he could simply meet, greet, and have photo opportunities with credit union members/ his constituents.
USAFCU created support materials for each credit union to use in postcard mailers, lobby posters, as well as a letter from the CEO of the credit union extolling Filner’s virtues and showing his strong support for credit union issues. These support pieces were then distributed to all participating credit unions for their marketing departments to use. Mary coordinated all the dates for the events between Filner’s campaign office and each credit union. The CEO letters were handed out by the tellers to members for several days leading up to the reception. It was a resounding success. By taking the photos with Filner and getting email addresses from members to distribute the photos, the Filner campaign built a database of supporters with whom they could later communicate. All each credit union had to do was host the event, offer small refreshments, and put the word out to the members who lived nearby that Congressman Bob Filner would be on hand to meet them and answer their questions. From February through June, Filner visited 11 different credit union branches and met hundreds of members! Due to this exposure and support from the credit union community, he won handily against Juan Vargas. Congressman Filner was thrilled and so were the credit unions.
Mary enjoys working for people she believes in. She also enjoys knowing they will take her phone calls and listen to her when she has a credit union issue. Mary now understands the power of getting involved with lawmakers and she recognizes that part of her job as a leader in the credit union industry is to communicate our issues with those that are in a position to affect our industry.
Mary has attended countless fundraisers over the years, walked through countless neighborhoods handing out materials, hosted fundraisers in her credit union and donated personal dollars to many candidates. Even though it’s hard work, she also realizes the importance of that involvement.
Through Mary, USA FCU participates in Project Zip Code and California’s Connect for the Cause program. Her credit union completed its’ Project Differentiation Statement years ago, since she chaired that committee for CUNA and helped to originate the template. It is important for credit unions to establish their uniqueness in the financial services industry. She also feels that it’s very important for everyone who works for credit unions to invest in political advocacy.
Mary has been the CEO of USA FCU ($720 million in assets) in San Diego, CA for five years. Prior to that, she was CEO of CUNA (now Great Wisconsin) Credit Union for six years. Before that her entire credit union career was in Oklahoma City, OK.
She currently serves on the California League’s Shapiro Group Committee as the large credit union liaison, the RMJ Foundation Board of Directors, and the Western CUNA Management School Board of Trustees. She is also currently serving as Chairman of the National Credit Union Foundation.
Her many interests include golf, travel, and her two grandchildren!
Where will the "Political Spotlight" shine next? Please email us if you know an individual or group within the credit union movement who is engaged in the political process.
