An Intro to Political Activism
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INTRODUCTION
There isn't anything magical about getting what you want from your government. Legislators have a natural interest in staying informed about issues in their districts, and they want to vote in ways that will maximize their favor among their constituents. Well, surprise! As much as we may sometimes feel disenfranchised from mainstream politics, we're still "constituents." We have as much right as anyone to "lobby" our legislators, and to keep them informed on issues of concern to us. This article will give you the rudiments of dealing with your elected officials, so that you will have the same basic level of political access and knowledge that many special interest groups exercise on a daily basis.
VOTING
In Washington State, all U.S. citizens 18 and older who are state residents are eligible to vote. See the Washington State Voter Guide site for information on registering to vote. You may find it most convenient to ask to be placed on the permanent absentee rolls, so that your ballot for every election you are eligible to vote in will be automatically mailed to you: this means you can always vote in the privacy of your home, and will never miss an election.
WRITING YOUR LEGISLATOR
According to the League of Women Voters' pamphlet How to Lobby Your Legislator, "The amount of mail on a particular piece of legislation frequently helps determine the legislators' approach to an issue. One well written letter will often prove more weighty than a formal petition with many signatures."
Letters may be mailed or faxed or e-mailed, and short of physically meeting with your legislator these are the most powerful ways to communicate. In general, printed letters and e-mails are better than faxes, though note that the e-mail "political chain letters" which you sometimes see on the internet are a complete waste of time, and usually don't end up getting delivered to any public officials.
Be sure to include your real name, address, and telephone number in all written correspondence. It is not necessary to identify yourself as a "citizen and a taxpayer" - that goes without saying. State your case clearly and succinctly, without threats of any kind. Urge your legislator to vote the way you wish on any bills in question (identified by bill number), and present the reasons and rationales for doing so. Try to hold your letter to one or two pages, unless you have some prior relationship with the legislator (i.e. you are a campaign contributor or campaign volunteer).
We often blithely assume that legislators know all the issues and information pertinent to bills, and act the way they do out of malice. Not true. Nobody can stay informed about all issues all the time, and your letter is an opportunity to educate. This is especially true in the case of state, city, and county legislators, who may not even have office or research staffs, and may DEPEND on lobbyists and your letters.
Writing letters to legislators is easy, satisfying, and effective. You might want to tell others in person, through internet postings, and via posted flyers, whom to send letters to and how to do so, once you've sent yours. Don't include a sample letter, though, as "boilerplate" letters and postcards tend to be a dime a dozen.
CALLING YOUR LEGISLATOR
When calling legislators on the phone, start by asking to speak to either the legislator himself/herself or else the legislative assistant who deals with the bill or issue you are concerned with. When you get this person on the phone, say "Hello", give your name, give the city you live in, and identify yourself as being from the legislator's home district (thus being one of his constituents) if that is indeed the case. Say "I'd like to urge you/the legislator to oppose/support [name of bill, bill number, and any subsection if one part is of particular concern]." Then give a one or two sentence reason why.
Whether you are calling or writing, you should only spend time on legislators who might support your cause. If their opposition to a bill has no hope of being changed, then don't bother with them: instead concentrate on the borderline cases and potential supporters, and hope that the others will hear your message should the public be allowed to testify at hearings on the bill in question. If your bill is in committee, then pick legislators who head or are members of that committee.
MEETING YOUR LEGISLATOR
Face-to-face meetings where you present your case to your legislator can be very powerful. They give the legislator an opportunity to ask questions, and to connect an abstract issue with a human face. If you establish good rapport, give the legislator useful information, and act ethically, you may have easier access and clout the next time an important bill comes up. When you can, try to set appointments with the legislators themselves; failing this see their legislative assistants. At state, city, and county levels, seeing the legislator himself/herself is usually not difficult at all. As a private citizen, however, you may be granted a longer meeting and better scheduling if you are a constituent of that particular legislator.
The best way to have an effective face-to-face meeting is to be scrupulously honest (even about your position's weak points), to present solid information on the issue at hand, and to give a clear statement of your position and the rationale for supporting it. You don't need to make threats; the concept of gaining or losing votes because some constituents care about certain issues is never lost on legislators.
Tips on preparing for your meeting:
When hearings are held on a particular bill or topic, you can do a lot of good by testifying at the hearings. This is like one-on-one lobbying where you present your case, except MANY more legislators will be hearing you than just the one.
WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATURE INFORMATION
Washington State Legislature meetings are open to the public, and listening to one is a great way to get a sense of how state government operates. We also strongly recommend going on the guided tour of the state capitol in Olympia.
In even-numbered years, the Washington State Legislature is in session for 60 days starting on the second Tuesday in January. In odd-numbered years, the Washington State legislature is in session for 105 days starting on the second Tuesday in January. Although bills may only be passed while the legislature is in session, standing committees may meet year-round to write and create the legislation which will be introduced during the session. It is often easiest to influence the final form of a bill while it is still in committee. Committee meetings are all open to the public, and you may speak out at them - just be sure to bring along a printout of your statements, so if speaking time runs out you can have your written statements entered into the record.
To leave an opinion, statement, or concern about Washington state government, for information on the status of bills, or to obtain copies of current bills, call the Washington State Legislative Hotline. To facilitate inquiries, be ready to provide your district number or the name of at least one legislator in your district. Please note in terms of the state legislature that you are only a constituent of the governor, and the two state representatives and the state senator from your district: when you call the Washington State Legislative Hotline with a statement, this is equivalent to calling the offices of each of these people individually with your statement.
RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS
There is a golden rule of mass communication: speak in language your audience will understand.
This is important with legislators, but with the public it is paramount. Identify what values your audience may have, and present your cause in terms of those. Nothing you could say is likely to cause anyone to change their basic value system, but you may cause them to see supporting your cause as consistent with their existing value system. Be very aware of the ethical, moral, and/or legal basis you're using to make your case, and you won't fall into any serious rhetorical traps.
When you write for a mass audience, keep your goals firmly in mind. It's VERY easy to get riled up as you're writing, infuriated with the latest injustice, and completely forget to tell people what they can do to make the given situation better. Horror stories aren't activism. When you write "action alerts", whether for distribution in print or on the internet, make sure you have a special section labeled "ACTION" which tells people EXACTLY what they can do to make a difference. If writing a letter is best, for example, give the address where it should be sent. Your action alert should also contain a name and phone number so people can contact you or your organization.
CREATING AND USING AN OUTREACH ORGANIZATION
Let's keep this in perspective: five letters from constituents are going to mean much more to a legislator than a letter from one small, unknown organization. If your particular community ever forms an organization or coalition to lobby the state and city legislatures, it is possible that this would leave you LESS politically powerful IF your community takes its formation to mean that it can stop individual activisms.
One of the most valuable things your community could do might be to distribute documents like this widely, so that you each know what you can do should a crisis arrive and, perhaps individually become more powerful in the Washington state political process. Then, you can stay tuned to your normal information distribution channels to stay informed of possible crises. Communities which depend on first amendment protections of speech and expression may find that joining the ACLU of Washington will keep them informed of critical matters.
MAINTAINING AND BUILDING ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIP
The most powerful way to build morale is to accomplish a meaningful goal due to the participation of everyone in the organization. If there are a number of changes you want to make in the world, pick the easiest one first (perhaps something so simple as to be almost a "gimmee") so that your organization gets a reputation for achieving concrete results. That a progressive organization actually achieved a concrete result may cause a paradigm shift for many people, who may have assumed that volunteer work for social change was something you did out of grim duty, rather than for any real hope of winning. So, pick your battles carefully, and make realistic goals such that you know when you've won.
Most national progressive organizations have paid staff at the top level to do the core work. You probably won't, and if your campaign needs to last for any length of time you will have to find something besides money to make it worthwhile for the people you've enrolled in the effort. Combining or following work with social opportunities, keeping things fun, listening to music or joking while you stuff envelopes, etc. are all good ideas. In real life, "because you should" only works as motivation for a short time. In the long run, most people need to be acting out of self-interest for their efforts to continue.
When people take on certain levels of autonomy and decision making power in an organization, and gain the opportunity to be in the eye of either the public or their own community, they gain status and perhaps self-esteem. Certainly, this is a primary benefit which the founders of an organization receive, but as they don't usually credit themselves with receiving it they don't usually understand why the volunteers who join later aren't as motivated. Keep in mind that many of the people in your organization may not have its goals as the #1 priorities in their lives; always keep a close eye on the benefits the organization offers THEM.
Avoid unnecessary organizational meetings; they can often become a frustrating substitute for real action. In meetings, whenever possible, let people find their own answers so they can get the thrill of taking credit for them. This can often be accomplished by guiding the meeting with questions rather than commands.
One powerful technique for building membership (other than calling everyone you know and urging them to call everyone they know, and calling leaders of other sympathetic groups) is to start petitions. Although a petition with many signatures will usually not carry as much weight with a legislator as one well-written letter, it is an INVALUABLE recruiting tool. If someone signs your petition, you can recruit them on the spot as you know they are sympathetic to your cause. You can also offer to send more info later based on the address they gave on your petition form, or invite them to a scheduled meeting or action. If you do ultimately deliver your petitions to legislators, keep the originals and only give away copies.
Finally, here are some keys to avoiding burnout as an activist: enjoy what you are doing, surround yourself with fellow activists who also enjoy what they are doing, take time off whenever you feel like you might need it, and celebrate your small victories rather than waiting to feel good until you've created heaven on earth.
RUNNING FOR PUBLIC OFFICE
Being voted into public office is the ultimate invitation to participation in a democracy. What's more, at local levels (rather than national levels), seats are easier to win, races don't subject the personal lives of candidates and their families to the same abusive level of media scrutiny, and campaigns are cheaper to run.
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS
For a free copy of They Represent You (which contains mail, office, phone, fax, and e-mail contacts for all your local, state, and national representatives in Washington State and Seattle) visit this web site.
Note that when it comes to Washington D.C. (i.e. the Federal government), every U.S. voter is a constituent of the U.S. President, every voter resident in their state is a constituent of both of the U.S. Senators for that state, and every voter resident in their congressional district of their state is a constituent of the U.S. Representative for that congressional district of that state (which basically means you're a constituent of only one of the people representing your state in the U.S. House of Representatives, so you need to figure out which one it is if you want to write to the correct U.S. Representative).
Note that in general it is more common for U.S. Representatives to keep local offices than it is for U.S. Senators to keep local offices.
In person and in letters, the U.S. President should be addressed as "Mr. President" and The U.S. Vice-President should be addressed as "Mr. Vice-President." Both U.S. and state Senators should be addressed as "Senator [name]," both U.S. and state representatives should be addressed as "Mr./Mrs. [name]."
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