Get to Know Your Public Officials

At some point in the course of your campaign, you might find it necessary to call upon the powers that be for support. Elected officials, from your town mayor to state legislators to Congress, can influence decisions regarding transportation and its impact on wildlife. You donít have to be a K Street lobbyist or high-dollar campaign contributor to meet with lawmakers. You just need to be informed, prepared and professional. In fact, elected officials would rather meet with you as a constituent than meet with a paid lobbyist.

If you can’t get to Washington DC or your state capitol to meet with lawmakers, you can always call them, send a letter or meet with them in person when they return to their home districts on weekends, holidays or during district work periods. Legislators often hold town meetings or listening sessions to solicit constituents input. You may also find elected officials willing to come to you. Do you have a meeting, event or perhaps a field trip to a project site that would be of interest to a local lawmaker?

By inviting them to visit you, they can talk directly to other stakeholders, gain a greater understanding of the issue and see the impacts firsthand.

When is it appropriate to contact public officials about wildlife and transportation issues?

Elected officials are powerful, but they aren’t omnipotent. Before you contact your lawmakers, recognize the difference between what they can do and what they cannot. If you are trying to influence the intra-agency policies of your state transportation agency, or reverse a decision in an EIS, it is unlikely that your state senator can do much to help you. (See ìWorking with Government Agenciesî above.) However, there are occasions when lawmakers can be your best friends.

You may want to contact your public officials for the following:

What is the best way to communicate with public officials about wildlife and transportation issues?

There are several ways to make contact with your elected officials. Depending upon your needs, you may choose to call, send a letter or meet with them in person. If you are simply inquiring about their position on a particular matter or you want to voice your opposition to a bill, a phone call or letter will suffice. If you have more substantial requests, you may want to schedule a face-to-face meeting. In any communication with public officials on wildlife and transportation issues, keep in mind that while this is an age-old problem, solutions are still relatively new. Your lawmakers may not be familiar with the subject, may not understand the importance or the relevance to them and their constituents. Be prepared to provide a quick primer on the issue.

E-mail

Many of us have become so dependent on e-mail, we no longer use other methods of communication. However, e-mail may not be the most effective way to correspond with public officials. Since the meteoric rise in electronic communication, many special interests (including conservationists) have used e-mail and fax to bombard elected officials with information and bulk messages. As such, bulk or blast e-mails have lost effectiveness with elected officials.

A 2002 survey of Minnesota legislators found that e-mail is effective only under certain circumstances. If a legislator recognizes that the e-mail was personally written by a constituent, it can be almost as effective as sending a letter. However, “the problem with e-mail,” as one Minnesota legislator put it, “is that one does not have the time to respond to nonconstituents, but there is no easy, non-offensive way to sort out the ‘political spammers.’”

Once you’ve established a rapport with the official’s staff, e-mail may become a more appropriate and effective method of communication. Most staff use Blackberry devices and can respond to your message quickly. Do not abuse this by e-mailing too often. They are busy people and are likely to be working on a myriad of matters beyond yours.

“Canned language is fine for letting me know there are a lot of people out there who are interested in this, or that some group has a following, but if you really want me to believe you care about this a lot, tell me in your own words.”
-Congressional staffer

Phone Call

If you want information and you want it fast, nothing beats the old-fashioned phone call. You may not get the chance to speak directly to the public official, but his or her staff can answer questions and relay information. Phone calls are a good way to find out the lawmaker’s position on an issue, and a good way to voice your support or opposition on an issue or piece of legislation. As with any contact with public officials, be prepared before you begin. You may even want to script the call before you dial and have pen and paper ready to jot down notes.

When you call…

“Remember that there are just a very few people answering phones and they take tons of calls. Kindness goes a long way for the folks who often have to deal with angry callers.”
-Former Senate Chief of Staff

Writing a Letter

One letter from a conscientious constituent will carry more weight than hundreds of form e-mails. Handwritten letters are surprisingly rare and therefore more effective. For real results, write a letter to your public officials and make your case. The same general rules apply for letter writing as for phone calls:

“The communication that Sen. Gramm values most certainly does not arrive by wire. It is the one where someone sat down at a kitchen table, got a sheet of lined paper and a No. 2 pencil, and poured their heart into a letter.”
(Alperin, 2003)

How to Write a Letter to Your Elected Officials

Letter writing is still the most popular choice for communicating with elected officials. You can write a personal letter, or participate in an organized campaign and send a signed postcard. You can mail, fax or e-mail your letter. Each method has its positives and negatives and is treated differently depending on the office. The most important thing is that your message is getting to your elected officials.

Regardless of the method you use to write your legislator, you must include the following basics:

The general form for a letter to an elected official is:

Date

The Honorable Joan Doe
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

RE: Wildlife and highways

Dear Senator Doe,

First paragraph: I am a resident of Anytown, State and I am writing today because I am concerned about…

Second paragraph: This is important because…(facts, specific examples)

Third paragraph: Specifically, I am writing to ask you to…

Thank you for your kind consideration of this matter.

Sincerely, (your handwritten signature)

Name
Title
Address
Phone number

Schedule a Meeting

So you’ve made calls, sent letters and exercised your First Amendment rights. Are you ready for a face-to-face meeting with an elected official? Personal visits are an excellent way to communicate on a personal level and reinforce that someone other than lobbyists are paying attention to the issues that effect your town or state. But keep in mind that they are busy people, just like you. Take ample time to prepare for an effective and productive meeting.

Make an appointment. Walk-ins might be welcome at the local salon, but they are less popular with elected officials. Call the office well in advance to request a meeting and tell the scheduler what the meeting will be about. Ask for a meeting during recess or district visits. Due to their tight and often fluctuating schedules, be flexible. Your appointment may be rescheduled or, more likely, you will be asked to meet with a staff person instead. Keep in mind that meeting with staff can be as productive as seeing the elected official in person.

Be prepared. Know your issue inside and out—have detailed fact sheets and background information ready to share. Bring informational materials you can leave with them, but don’t overwhelm them with long documents they don’t have time to read. Find out if this public official has already taken a stand on the issue, either by vote or a public statement.

Bring allies. Bring a small group of stakeholders, either from your coalition or representatives from other like-minded groups. If possible, bring an expert or community leader who can reinforce your position. Meet and rehearse with the group before the actual meeting. Choose one spokesperson that will spearhead the discussion and act as point person for any follow-up. Assign key messages to group members so that everyone is heard.

Be professional. Be punctual, polite and dress appropriately. Introduce the group and thank them for taking time to meet with you.

Be brief. Stick to the subject and be respectful of their time. Save time to listen to what they have to say and answer questions. If you don’t have all the answers, commit to finding them and follow up.

Make it local. Explain how the issue will affect the official’s home district or issues he or she has shown interest in.

Make “the ask.” Don’t leave that meeting without asking the elected official to take action. Once you have informed them about your issue, tell them what to do about it. Make a direct request and get an answer. If you get a no, politely ask why and find out what it would take to get to yes.

Make a graceful exit. End the meeting on time. Sum up your main point, restate your “ask” and thank them again for their time. Leave them with your materials, contact information and a promise to follow up with additional information.

Follow up. Send a thank you note to the public official and any staff with whom you met. This will build a positive rapport with your legislator and his or her staff.

“Meetings are fine, but come prepared and please try to make an appointment. I have people on my staff who know the details of this issue and it serves me and you better if they can be in the meeting and be prepared to hear you out. I really would like to see someone from back home, rather than a DC lobbyist. I want to know how this helps my home state/district first and foremost.”
-Congressional staffer

What not to do when communicating with public officials

Additional Resources

How to Make the System Work for We, the People
Global Exchange

Working with Elected Officials
American Civil Liberties Union

Speak Up! Legislative Affairs
Governors Highway Safety Association

Sunlight Foundation
Websites, tools and resources to make the government transparent and accountable.