Jobs for Southwestern Indiana
Political Action Committee (JPAC)

The Jobs for Southwestern Indiana Political Action Committee (JPAC) is the non-partisan political action program of The Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana. It was created in 1996 to aid the Chamber’s Government Affairs activities and encourage more candidates who have a business background.

Since its creation, JPAC has given nearly $50,000 toward the successful election of pro-business candidates. JPAC doesn’t “buy access” to incumbents like many PAC’s, but focuses on pro-business challengers, open-seat contests and protecting pro-business incumbents who are truly threatened with defeat.

JPAC is funded by contributions from Chamber members, and decisions about endorsement and financial support are made by the committee. JPAC is an eleven-member committee co-chaired by a Democrat and a Republican, who are both members of the board of directors.

During each election cycle, JPAC interviews candidates for select local and state offices. Starting in 2010, all interviews were conducted by volunteer members and were video-taped for public viewing on the www.watchevansville.com web site.

Additionally, The Chamber partners with the University of Southern Indiana on a biennial basis to host a candidate school, which encourages and equips individuals with necessary tools and information to run for elected office. The candidate school consists of a series of panel discussions on campaign finance, media relations, what to expect as a candidate and much more.

If you have any questions, please contact The Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana at 812.425.8147 or via e-mail at chamberinfo@ccswin.com.