The alphabet organizations that champion the cause of aviation to elected officials and government agencies can’t do it all alone. That was the message at a recent Westchester Aviation Association (WAA) meeting held at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y. On the national, regional, state and local levels, organizations that speak for their business and general aviation constituents are discovering that the concerns they raise are in many cases the first times elected officials have heard of the issues.
“The saying is and has always been that all politics are local,” said WAA president and former NBAA chairman Jeff Lee. “There is only so much that our tremendous general aviation associations can do for us inside the Beltway. When they approach a congressional representative inside the Beltway they are just another lobby [group]. When the local folks at White Plains, Teterboro or Morristown approach their politicians, they are voters, they are constituents, they are people who can influence what happens to that politician’s career, so we need to speak out and tell them how we feel.” When pending legislation threatens the activities of general aviation, such as in cases of community encroachment upon existing airports, individuals are encouraged to become more active and to join local user groups to better express their needs.
