Ranch Business Alliance forms CCE

LAKEWOOD RANCH — When the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance was established in late 2004, organizers knew they wanted to create a voice for their growing business community.

They also knew that if the group were to be effective, one day it would have to get politically involved — not just in pushing for pro-business candidates, but also in lobbying the state Legislature on behalf of the local business community.

And now the group has taken its next step with the formation of a Committee of Continuous Existence, which will allow the Alliance to raise money for pro-business political candidates and causes.

“It’s part of the whole (motto of) voice, vision and visibility,” said Craig Cerreta, chairman of the Alliance’s Governmental Affairs Committee. “The Alliance is a pro-business advocacy group and the CCE is a funding vehicle to support that. I think it is a big step in the Alliance’s evolution.”

The CCE is its own entity, with a separate board of directors, but it is under the guidance of the Alliance, Cerreta said. Dubbed Pro Business Ranch, the CCE, through funding, will give the Alliance a stronger voice and allow it to make sure businesses are aware of issues facing Lakewood Ranch, he said.

It also will provide a vehicle through which Alliance members can pool their resources to support or fight causes, or make contributions without having monies linked back directly to them, as they would if they sponsored a candidate fundraiser, for example.

Cerreta said the CCE will be funded by voluntary donations identified for the CCE; no membership monies will be put toward the entity.

The Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance has planned, since its inception, to form a fundraising arm for its political advocacy efforts, but it needed enough members to do so, Cerreta said. It had considered forming the CCE last year; however it began fighting Amendment 4, known as the Hometown Democracy initiative, during the same period. It did not have enough time for the formation of the CCE to affect the issue. Now with more than 460 companies represented in its mix of members, the Alliance is ready to move forward.

“This is not a one-time thing,” Cerreta said. “This is an ongoing effort for years to come. It isn’t formed just for the 2012 election. We really look at this as a long-term evolution. We envision having golf tournaments (and other fundraisers for it).”

Cerreta said the Governmental Affairs Committee is working to finalize its evaluation process for political candidates and is getting ready to start the interview process. Once funding is in place, the CCE will help support the candidates and other political issues that receive the Alliance’s endorsement.

For information on the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance, visit www.lwrba.org.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].