Op/Ed: Why I wanted TahoeChamber’s endorsement

Running for elected office is one of the most humbling experiences a person can have. You’re allowing yourself to be scrutinized by your community, people can take shots at your positions, and you have to move forward with calm and ease the entire time. I knew I wanted to make a difference in our community after completing the TahoeChamber’s Leadership Lake Tahoe program, little did I know that I’d be taking action and running for City Council so soon.

As someone who is new to leadership within our community I felt it was best to be vetted by my community and to ask and answer questions to make sure that I have what it takes to be your elected representative. I’ve made myself available to any group that would like to meet with me, and I’ve also sought out endorsements from other organizations besides the TahoeChamber to gain further name recognition. The process of receiving a TahoeChamber endorsement was not easy; I completed an in-depth questionnaire regarding issues South Lake Tahoe struggles with: public transportation, redevelopment, safety, infrastructure and more. I was also asked to speak to the Chamber Election Committee (CEC) as well as its CEO Roundtable.

I'm proud of staying true to my vision during this process, and not holding back on my passion to see new representation in City Council result in getting the TahoeChamber's Endorsement. The fact that a comprehensive group of South Lake Tahoe's leaders came together to volunteer their time to work with the Tahoe Chamber in this process is a sign that we are all in this together and want to move forward as a community.

The CEC included people from all walks of life: a Rabbi, a College Professor, a TV Personality, and more. The questions asked were meaningful and the meeting had a conversational feel to it. I was allowed to ask questions at the end and I did ask (to paraphrase), “why are all of you here for this process, why is TahoeChamber endorsing candidates?”

Before I started TahoeChamber's endorsement process I looked over the TahoeFuture 2020 Vision Document to get a better understanding of TahoeChamber's stances on a host of issues. What I took away from this document was this organization has a well-rounded vision for our community's future that balances residents’ and business’ needs. This vision document put me at ease and it’s important to understand this endorsement is not about big business or having an agenda; this endorsement is about ensuring opportunities for our citizens to have a sustainable life here in South Lake Tahoe. Here’s more on the endorsement process.

The CEO roundtable was an experience I’ll never forget. I thought I’d meet with 8-10 people, but I believe there were 25-30 people in the room. Representatives from the college, local businesses, the Forest Service and more were in attendance and the questions were flying at me from all directions. I answered from my heart; I spoke with conviction on how I feel we can move forward as a community and I left that meeting with a sense of no matter how it all turns out, I did my best and did not waiver from my beliefs in order to please anyone.

Fast forward to September 18th and it was announced that I received the endorsement of the TahoeChamber, coming in 2nd with a score of 81%. A quote from the endorsement announcement states that, “He strongly supports transportation and community mobility improvements and creating a more sustainable community, one that leads in the area of environmental and economic stewardship.” I believe in myself and my abilities, but more importantly I believe that an active and engaged community can make big changes here in South Lake Tahoe. I hope to be a voice for you as we transform ourselves into the world class mountain town we all know we can be.

Matt Palacio, Candidate for South Lake Tahoe City Council: www.VoteMattPalacio.com