COMMENTARY: A constituency of one
![The white house](https://www.autoremarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/The-white-house.jpg)
Photo courtesy of the White House.
If you’re like me, you probably have a favorite television show or movie you repeatedly watch over and over and over again.
Mine is The West Wing. The writing is phenomenal. The acting is outstanding. And, as you might know, I love politics.
An episode titled “Constituency of One” follows deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman after he is dubbed the “101st Senator” because of his success in convincing politicos in Washington to see things his way. Legend has it Lyman once sent a congressman a dead fish to help motivate him.
Lyman downplays the hubbub, telling West Wing staffers they serve a constituency of one, that being the President of the United States. One staffer immediately pushed back and said she also serves a constituency of one — herself.
I have thought about the meaning of “constituency of one” over the course of my career.
I have worked for politicians, engaged politicians in professional and personal settings, and may have even been considered a politician at one point in time.
After decades of meetings with individuals and entities while in government service and while representing individuals and entities before government bodies, I have come to the same conclusion that fictional White House staffer did. Ultimately, we are all constituencies of one, to ourselves and our businesses.
Think about the idea of your business being a constituency of one. What does that mean to the dealership? Why is that important? What should you do to represent your constituency of one?
Being a constituency of one means you each have a story to tell.
You know your business. You know your business’s impact on your employees, on the economy and on your community. You know the day-to-day challenges dealerships face. You know how your dealership fits into the larger automobile retail industry.
Who better to tell this story — your story — than you?
I can assure you government officials want to hear from you. They need to hear from you. Think about the litany of issues your city council members, county commissioners and congressional representatives have on their plate at any given time.
When you think about the number of issues they face, their knowledge is often a mile wide and an inch deep. They need you to provide the substance of understanding.
Perhaps you’re wondering if your engagement will make a difference. Let me share a few examples of how the voice of the dealer has made a difference over the years.
It’s the dealer voice that has repeatedly pushed back against proposed legislation that would prohibit the sale of vehicles with open recalls.
It was the dealer voice that led to the revocation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s flawed guidance on dealer-assisted financing.
It was the voice of the dealer that led Congress to revoke the CFPB’s ill-conceived, anti-consumer arbitration rule.
It was the voice of the dealer that kept 100% deductibility of floorplan interest expenses in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
It was the voice of the dealer that helped defeat overreaching buy here-pay here legislation in Oregon.
And more recently, it was the voice of the dealer that convinced federal, state and local governments that automotive sales and service were essential businesses to remain open during the pandemic.
This is far from a complete list, but these things don’t happen without you telling your story.
How do you get started? Reach out to your local, state and federal elected officials. Invite them to come by the dealership and see first-hand what you do and how you do it.
I would also encourage you to get involved in your dealer associations. Consider contributing to their political action committees, which support candidates for office who will champion our industry.
One final piece of advice — leave the dead fish at home.
Shaun Petersen, executive vice president and chief legal officer of Buckeye Dealership Consulting, is a former Ohio senior deputy attorney general who has previously served the auto industry as an attorney representing dealers and as senior vice president of legal and government affairs for the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association.