Ed Eickhoff
Executive Vice President of Real Estate, EPIC Fitness Group, LLC
Northville, MI
Why do you support the ICSC PAC?
Similar to how we build landlord/tenant and developer/municipal relationships, advocacy is relationship building between ICSC members and elected officials. These legislators can affect our bottom lines and need to understand our business. The ICSC PAC provides resources to support the campaigns of candidates who align with the Marketplaces Industry and incumbents who work to fight bad legislation.
Do you feel that contributing to the ICSC PAC has helped your business?
What many ICSC members do not understand is that the majority of the ICSC Global Public Policy team’s successes have been stopping harmful legislation from being enacted. Supporting the PAC has helped the GPP team advocate for issues affecting my company's work in areas such as tax, operations (COVID measures), labor law (joint employer legislation), and environmental regulation (fighting expanding the definition of navigable waters).
Has being an ICSC PAC supporter helped you feel more involved in the political process?
I am admittedly a political junkie and, yes, many more doors are opened when you have a viable PAC behind you.
Do you think having a PAC increases ICSC’s overall visibility?
Yes, it is extremely important to keep a visible presence in D.C. ICSC has done a very good job managing relationships with members of congress on key committees and joining coalitions to increase our overall impact. The recent victory in keeping changes to carried interest out of the Inflation Reduction Act is a prime example of our ability to influence legislation.
Why is it important to have a PAC that represents the Marketplaces Industry?
All industries are fighting for attention, resources and good policy outcomes that will benefit their members and businesses. If ICSC does not have a voice and seat at the table, we may find ourselves negatively impacted by policies other industries are pushing for.
Why couldn’t someone just support individual candidates instead of the PAC?
Ideally, they should do both, but if you must choose one choose the PAC. There is strength in numbers.
Click here to support ICSC PAC's “65 for 65” campaign, celebrating ICSC’s 65th Anniversary.
For more information, contact Alyssa Clevenger at aclevenger@icsc.com.