How can politically-driven individuals impact your organization?

I hope they would have zero influence on IT, Development and Security topics.

Politics really has no place in infrastructure and technology implementation. Data security, cyber security, redundancy, total cost of ownership, return on investment, and inter-operability are all things that should be at the forefront. A person who is politically motivated could steer one of these in the wrong direction and negatively impact the direction of the business. 

My views are that there are pockets which exist in every organization. This is the reality. People are in an infinite race to fast track their careers and this is the by product of the mad race that we are all a part of. These individuals take away meritocracy from the organization and will tend to demotivate your genuine , high performing individuals who are more focussed on the organizations goals.  As a leader - i would not focus on changing mindsets - that is a game you cannot win. Set Goals which are meaningful - document performance and assess without bias. Very soon there will be a marked change in behaviors for some (not generalizing the statement ) and then we move forward. 

Important to establish transparent processes to manage the potential impact that politically-driven individuals might have

In my opinion discussing politics in an organization, especially these days, can be very detrimental.  The political climate we live in today is very polarizing, and can cause hurt feelings or worse easily. Companies should be aware of this and address it before it happens. Everyone can have their opinions, which is how it should, but do not put someone down or create a hostile environment if their opinion is different than your own.