The Southern Wisconsin Landlords' Association has a long tradition of being involved in the policymaking and elective processes of the governments of our area. Almost from its inception SWLA has sought to gain the ear of local government on issues affecting our industry. When these issues arise, you can depend on a good turnout of our members at hearings of committees, the Common Council, and in the offices of our l ocal administrative and regulatory agencies.

SWLA has sought to present our members with an opportunity to understand political candidates' positions on matters affecting our business by hosting a series of forums which offer our members a face to face meeting with various candidates for office. These include the Racine Common Council, the Mayoral, and the State Senate races. The forums have been formatted as panel discussions with candidates responding to both topics that were sent to them beforehand and issues from the floor. These forums also have given our members a chance to demonstrate to the candidates our commitment to providing safe and affordable housing to the greater Racine area and for them to see us as a professional, ethical, community oriented organization.

SWLA has a speaker at most of our monthly meetings and these speakers are often from the agencies which affect or oversee our businesses. We have had prosecuting attorneys, public advocate attorneys, members from the city inspection team, center for conflict resolution, the drug task force, and many, many more. Our members gain a wealth of knowledge from these speakers as they get an opportunity to hear the perspective of the speaker and to also ask questions about how we can work with them to make both their job and ours easier. Many members find it easier to be heard when they go to these various individuals with a concern and remind them they met at a SWLA meeting. Our speakers always comment on the professionalism of our group. They often say we are not the problem landlords. The fact is our industry has a public image in some circles could be improved upon, but the SWLA membership and by extension the WAA membership, gives an increased stature in the community.