thomascwaters.com

Recently I published a few posts about lobbying your elected official:

1) Get Involved!

2) How to Lobby Your Elected Official (Instruction Sheet)

3) Resources Page

The “Instructions” were developed with help by Dana Elmendorf from PFLAG. Thanks Dana! There were a few things Dana shared with me that I wanted to add to this thread (with her permission). Dana writes:

One other thing to keep in mind is that often people don’t make these visits because they don’t always feel they confidently know what they are talking about.  It is a pretty intimidating thing.  I’ve always gone in with an attitude, though, of “feel the fear and do it anyway”.  The fist visit I made I was so scared but I learned a lot even if I didn’t nail it.  I took that experience inot the second visit and by the third was actually able to change my senator’s mind. So, don’t let fear hold you back.

Also let people know if they want an experienced person to meet with them beforehand or even to go with them, I am happy to help if my schedule allows. 

Once I worked up my confidence for these kinds of meetings I found it very productive to also ask directly “would you be willing to vote for this legislation or perhaps even be a cosponsor?”   If they say no or seem reluctant, respectfully ask them very clearly to help you to understand their current views on the issue impacting their reluctance.  That then gives you a step for further future dialogue, a chance to clear up any misconseptions, and valuable information to pass along to Jake so he knows where legislators are standing on the issue.  Remember there are over 200 of them so Jake really needs to rely on getting info from many people who have attended meetings.

If we sit back and wait for “the right politician” or “the right legislation” to create a better society, we will always be waiting. Our democracy works only when we, the people are the driving force demanding accountability and action from our elected officials. We help them represent us and keep them on that track by communicating with them at the ballot box and through an ongoing dialogue and communication once they are in office. Do your part!  Communicate with your elected officials.