Missouri and Cape Girardeau Associations Put NAR Land Use Initiative Services to Work
When the City Council of Cape Girardeau got serious about implementing an onerous rental inspection program, the 292-member Cape Girardeau County Board of REALTORS® got busy. The board worked with the Missouri Association, which in turn asked for help from NAR. Through NAR’s Land Use Initiative...
Ft. Collins (CO) REALTORS® Commission Poll Showing What Voters Really Think About City Council Proposal
When the Fort Collins, Colorado City Council began floating the idea of extending its term limits, the Fort Collins Board of REALTORS® (FCBR) suspected that the citizens may not be for it. The 775-member board worked with NAR’s Campaign Services staff and commissioned a poll to take a look. The...
North Dakota Association Stands Up for Local Control in Property Tax Battle — and Wins!
The North Dakota Association of REALTORS® (NDAR,) joined an astonishing coalition of more than 80 groups to oppose a measure that would have abolished the state’s century-old property tax. That’s right, REALTORS® worked to “keep” the tax. Why? Because getting rid of the tax would have...
REALTORS® Launch Waterbury (CT) “Front Porch Day” with Housing Opportunity Grant
The city of Waterbury, Conn. had been facing a growing epidemic of neighborhood blight for decades. Some properties had been abandoned; others harbored criminal activity. Porches, lawns, and sidewalks along entire streets had fallen into disrepair. Leaders of the 650-member Greater Waterbury Board...
San Diego Association Helps Three REALTOR®-Champions Win Most Votes in Jungle Primary
It’s a jungle out there in San Diego; in fact, in all of California, where the ‘Jungle Primary System’ applies. In the jungle system, all candidates are in the first round which, technically, is a non-partisan race, although candidates can accept endorsements. Fifty percent plus one vote wins...
Virgin Islands Association Takes on Historic Preservation With Issues Mobilization Grant
The price of living in paradise is occasional rough weather – and when storms the like of Hurricanes Hugo [1989] and Marilyn [1995] battered the U.S. Virgin Islands, the damage to property proved too much for owners of many of the islands’ historic homes. Over the years, the resulting...
Oregon REALTORS® Step Up to the Plate to Ban Transfer Taxes
Oregon’s REALTORS® came out in force in May of 2012 to let the powers that be know exactly what they think of the possibility of a new real estate transfer tax. In an energetic campaign to get a measure on November’s ballot opposing any new taxes on real estate transactions, the 12,000-member...
Illinois Association Advances Smart Growth Newsletter With Game Changer Grant
The Illinois Association of REALTORS® (IAR) is using its $19,000 Game Changer Grant to help support a new bi-annual smart growth newsletter -- On Common Ground in Illinois. Loosely modeled on NAR’s On Common Ground smart growth magazine, the IAR publication specifically addresses issues of...
Oklahoma Association Goes Beyond PAC Contributions to Help Elect Two REALTOR® Champions
The 8,325-member Oklahoma Association of REALTORS® (OAR) has long had one of the state’s strongest Political Action Committees. But this spring, having received the maximum allowed PAC contributions from OAR, two of its strongest advocates – one in the State House (Marion Cooksey) and one in...
Texas REALTORS® Put Their Grassroots to Work in Statewide Primaries
“When Texas REALTORS® vote, Texas REALTORS® win.” That’s the slogan on the Texas Association’s web site -- and it’s also exactly what happened in the statewide primaries this year. The 80,000-member Texas Association worked with their 89 local associations to endorse 99 candidates...