Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton selected Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) as her running mate Friday. Kaine is a familiar face to credit unions in Virginia, and was supported by the Virginia Credit Union League in his 2012 campaign.
"Sen. Kaine has been good for Virginia credit unions, his door has always been open for us," said Rick Pillow, president of the Virginia Credit Union League.
Kaine, who has also served as governor of Virginia, praised credit unions’ philosophy during his 2012 campaign for Senate, saying he has “great respect for credit unions and their 'people helping people' philosophy."
Kaine was also one of 70 senators who signed a letter asking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to use its statutory exemption authority to provide regulatory relief to credit unions.
CUNA has had recent conversations with the campaigns of Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump. Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, is also a longtime credit union supporter.
Clinton spoke last month of the need to increase access to capital by reducing regulatory burden on credit unions and community banks.
CUNA’s “Strong Credit Unions. Strong Middle Class.” grassroots campaign, which focuses on educating all presidential candidates on the importance of credit unions and the benefits they provide to middle and lower-income individuals, is still going strong.
Credit union stakeholders can continue to take action at MiddleClass2016.com by letting the candidates know about the economic issues that matter to middle class credit union members.