Political Training Academy (PTA)

The A. Michael Mullane Political Academy was created to educate and train IAFF members to enhance their local’s political operation. Campaigns and elections are about choices, and the PTA is about learning how to make the best choices possible to win political campaigns.

The purpose of running and winning campaigns is to improve your memberships’ pay, benefits, safety, and retirement.  Local elections are more about organizing and implementing a successful campaign than raising the most money.  It is about building political relationships with the community and elected leaders to become the public safety expert in the eyes of your community.

 The PTA is designed for our members who are candidates for public office, serving as activists in candidate campaigns or ballot initiative campaigns.

 PTA is a week-long intensive program taught by campaign professionals and IAFF staff. In our campaign stimulation, students are placed into teams where they work on a mock campaign and develop an entire campaign plan using the best practices and essential elements. 

The elements of a campaign provide students with insight into planning a campaign through assessing resources, fundraising, budgeting, voter targeting, direct mail, recruiting and managing volunteers, communications and media, and get-out-the-vote.  In addition, students learn to be aware of election rules and laws at every level of government to ensure that their campaign complies with applicable election laws.

Due to the interactive nature of the training, the PTA class size is limited to 50 students.

The PTA is unique in that it is the only IAFF program where the IAFF and FIREPAC bear most of the cost.  Students are responsible for their transportation to and from the PTA. Students are also responsible for any incidental room charges.  The IAFF pays for the cost of the program, which includes housing, meals, and the week-long training program.