"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” Attributed to Margaret Mead, American cultural anthropologist. / Elected public servants need the civic view points, positions, and opinions of their constituents. Communicating with your elected officials is a citizen's right AND responsibly.
Latest Update: Tuesday, 27 June, 2023, Monday, 13 March, 2023
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How to communicate with your elected leaders during the 88th Texas Legislative Session.
Why
Elected public servants need the civic view points, positions, and opinions of their constituents. Communicating with your elected officials is a citizen's right AND responsibly.
There are plenty of businesses, organizations, and lobbyist, who are paid to consume the time and the attention of your elected officials. But it's the individual voter who elects these public servants.
If you want your opinion heard -- besides just complaining to your friends and family -- you need to make an effort to vote and then to communicate with your elected officials.
Elected officials are elected by and work for voting citizens
Your communications DO matter. At the state level, if legislators get just a dozen citizen communications on one side of an issue, legislators are likely to consider it a landslide -- as they so rarely hear from individual citizens on issues facing them for a vote.
Who
Here are the two Texas officials representing Willow Park citizens right now in the 88th Texas Legislative Session. Each has several contact points.
Texas State Senate District 30 (Voter Registration Card STSEN 30) Senator Drew Springer, Texas Senate Official Website
Texas State House District 60 (Voter Registration Card STREP 60) Representative Glen Rogers, Texas House Official Website
Additional details at Willow Park Civics > Voter Support > Current Districts and Elected Officials
How
General Communication Points
ALWAYS be polite and civil. “The boldness of his mind was sheathed in a scabbard of politeness.” Dumas Malone, "Jefferson the Virginian."
Identify yourself as a constituent. Lobbyists and political adversaries often hire people to overwhelm and spam your elected official with communications from PO boxes and fake addresses.
Be succinct -- short and specific. We live in a world of short, undisciplined, and overwhelmed attention spans. Longer communications may not receive a full attention or reading.
Remember, your communication will usually pass through an underpaid, overwhelmed assistant, so short and specific and organized messages will be appreciated.
Establish a relationship with your elected official.
Personal communication may be only be thirty seconds, but subliminal effects should not be underestimated.
Try to attend at least one local meeting in person with your elected official.
Stand in line, identify yourself as a constituent, and thank the elected official for his public service on a specific issue, if possible.
Establish a series of written communications.
Send more than one communication about a specific issue. People remember by repetition. [Study memory repetition and reinforcement and memory spaced repetition and retrieval.]
Set up a process of written communication, so each time you want to give your opinion and instruction to an elected official, it should take fewer than five minutes. (You should be able to make five minutes to protect your family and fortune, right?)
Do not expect a timely, personal reply. You will probably receive a form reply.
Your Message
Again, ALWAYS be polite.
Address the elected official by job title and last name. Example: Governor Abbott, Representative Williams, Senator Springer, Representative Rogers.
Create a succinct subject line. Your communication will be prioritized and categorized based on your subject line.
The subject line should be no more than a dozen words. Fewer is better.
Include your city of residence in your subject line, to identify you as a constituent.
Example; vote to decrease property taxes, Willow Park; vote yes on HB01, Willow Park
Address only ONE topic per message. Often legislative assistants categorize in pro and con on a specific subject. Additional topics may be lost in the organization.
In the beginning of your message, identify your one issue and expected actions.
Put the topic in the first sentence. Example: Please vote to decrease property taxes.
If possible include the title or the bill number of the proposed legislative action. Example: Please support the "Save Women’s Sports Act” HB 23.
Again, your message should be succinct -- short and specific.
Be factual, not emotional. Support your opinion with facts.
However, definitely communicate how the issue matters to you personally. Be specific and give details about how the issue affects you, your children, your neighborhood. A personal message gets attention.
If possible, use a plurality at lease once in your message. Example: My neighbors and I; as my family discussed during dinner; at a [organization name] meeting last month we discussed...
Bullet points are more effective than paragraphs.
Remember to thank your elected official for his public service.
Complete the communication with your name and your contact information including your location.
Include your full street address, so elected officials may identify you as one of their constituents.
Leaving a phone number is a welcoming statement, but optional.
Email and Hard Mail
Email and hardcopy mail are successful if submitted well ahead of a deadline or vote, especially if you plan several follow-up communiques on the same topic or if you are organizing a larger communications effort in your neighborhood.
For most, email is checked regularly, if not often. Remember to leave a very short but specific subject line that includes the city where you reside.
Form letters or emails are the least successful form of written communication with your elected official. Avoid a form letter, even if your think it is written much better than you could. A form letter or signing a petition from some group is better than nothing—but not much better. Use the form letter as a guide and make changes, especially in the subject line and topic sentence.
Hard mail.
Hand-address the hard mail envelope. Assistants rarely toss aside a hand-addressed letter, since it might be from a personal friend.
Type or hand-write on paper other than white and if possible with a unique letter head of your own. This small change, immediately differentiates your letter.
Slightly curl the corner of the letter before you put it in the envelope so it does not get “stuck” behind another in a stack of letters
Phone Calls
During a busy session or day, written communication (email and hard mail) are often prioritized lower than immediate demands. If timing is important, a phone call is often the better choice.
Create your message script to include the points in Your Message.
The message, whether left with a person or on a voice mail, should be no more than thirty seconds.
Practice your script and anticipate basic questions.
Resources
• Texas Municipal League Legislative Advocacy Toolkit, Write an Effective Advocacy Letter of Email, Page 13
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