Haslam has long been involved in politics in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Pilot is headquartered, both in an active role, and as a Republican Party fundraiser. He was a fundraiser for both Senator Howard Baker in the 1960s and President Gerald Ford in the 1970s. He was also appointed chairman of the Knox County Public Building Authority in the early 1970s. As chairman of this group, Haslam, a long-time proponent of metropolitan government, spearheaded the initiative to build the Knoxville City-County Building. In 1999, Knox County declined to reappoint Haslam to the Public Building Authority, which some interpreted as revenge for his support of a failed metropolitan government initiative the previous year.