FUMA Guidelines on Electoral Candidates/Politics

As Flatbush and New York City Council District 40 head into a highly contested election, the Flatbush United Mutual Aid collective feels it is necessary to make known its stance on political candidates and elections. What follows are a set of guidelines agreed upon by FUMA members which outline the group’s expectations when interacting with candidates, their staff, and those involved in electioneering in general.

FUMA is a nonpartisan collective of Flatbush residents seeking to work toward an interconnected, interdependent Flatbush where neighbors know their neighbors and their neighbors’ needs, and have the tools and trust to meet those needs and express their own. The FUMA collective aims to foster an anti-oppressive community that is inclusive and respectful of multiple viewpoints and political ideologies, including those who reject participating in electoral politics, provided that in practice those viewpoints and ideologies align to FUMA’s Community Agreements. FUMA works to protect against state and interpersonal violence, and to create an environment where all thrive. Using deep listening and the distribution of resources and privileges, FUMA builds solidarity and community in order to advance equity and justice.

While the FUMA collective unequivocally aims to refrain from engaging in electioneering activities or collectively endorsing any one candidate, the collective recognizes that candidates are often community leaders by nature and may desire to be involved in mutual aid activities before, during, and after their attempts to seek public office. What follows is FUMA’s guidelines around engagement from candidates for elected office. Any questions, comments, or concerns on the below policy should be directed to flatbushunited@gmail.com.

Social Media Engagement:

• Candidates for elected office who wish to engage or interact with FUMA Social Media accounts should identify themselves as candidates in their username or in brackets [ ] on their post.
• Individuals with paid positions with a campaign for elected offices should identify themselves as employees of a campaign in some way when posting election related content.
• No campaign materials, volunteering or fundraising requests should be made on any FUMA social media accounts by, or at the direction of, candidates for elected office or their staff.
• All posts/comments made by candidates for elected offices or their staff should be made in furtherance of the goals and vision of Flatbush United Mutual Aid.
• FUMA does not endorse political candidates or engage in electioneering.

Volunteering with FUMA:

• It is assumed that candidates for elected office and/or individuals actively supporting campaigns who also volunteer through Flatbush United Mutual Aid are doing so in good faith and service in the FUMA collective including its infrastructure should not be used as a vehicle for electioneering.
• Pictures, videos, or other media developed at or as a result of FUMA programs should not be used in paid promotional campaign materials (e.g. digital/print ads, fundraising materials, etc) nor should they insinuate that FUMA is endorsing a particular candidate.

Data Pledge

All candidates for elected office and their staff engaging with Flatbush United Mutual Aid in any way pledge not to use contact information or membership information for electioneering, fundraising, or any campaign related activity including: disseminating campaign information, encouraging people to vote for a particular candidate, conduct polls or surveys, etc) Candidates for elected office and their staff who wish to engage with FUMA should reach out to Flatbush United Mutual Aid (flatbushunited@gmail.com) and provide the following pledge:

We Commit To:

• Not collect, maintain, use or share FUMA collective members personal information including email addresses, usernames, group membership lists, etc.
• Not use or disclose collective members information collected as a result of participation in Flatbush United Mutual Aid or its programs.
• Not use FUMA community organized events as a photo opportunity for campaigning purposes

This pledge is not intended as a comprehensive privacy policy nor to be inclusive of all requirements to achieve compliance with all applicable federal or state laws.

Community Standards

• If another community members requests clarity on the nature of a post, candidates and/or candidates representatives will respond
• Candidates or representatives of campaigns will not direct message volunteers/members of FUMA platforms for electioneering activities