Effectively Communicating w/Your Representatives

Everyone has fallen victim to it before – the candidate that promises the world and, once elected, delivers nothing.  There is nothing more disappointing than voting for a candidate that you believe in and being let down by their lack of follow-through once in office.  What do you as a citizen do in this situation?  Enforce accountability! Whether you are trying to hold your elected officials accountable for promises they made while campaigning or for not properly standing for the beliefs of those they are supposed to represent, there are ways to ensure that they respond to you as a voter.  The best way to do this is by knowing how to most effectively communicate with your representatives.

The first step is finding out how exactly your representatives prefer to be contacted.  Some representatives may never answer their phone or return calls; but if you send them an email, you will receive a response in minutes.  Others may be very easy to contact via phone or letter, but they can’t figure out how to open an email to save their life.  These are all things that you must keep in mind when contacting your representatives with your concerns.

• LETTERS/EMAILS

When writing letters and emails to your representatives, it is very important to sound as genuine as possible.  Be you in the letter or email, and relay to them how the issue that you are writing about has affected you personally.  We’ve all received emails from friends and family telling us to mail or email the attached letter to our representatives.  However, a letter or email is given much more credibility if it is not an obvious effort that was orchestrated by one person.  If you are organizing an effort such as this, encourage people to put their own personal message in the letter or email before sending it to their representative.

If you are having trouble getting a response with your letters or emails, it may be time to include the media in your efforts.  Simply writing a letter to the editor explaining the situation and the lack of response by your representative can make a huge difference.  No representatives want to see their name in the paper being referred to in a way that reflects negatively upon them.  It is important to note, however, that you must be very careful when including the media in an effort such as this.  Do not let yourself write a nasty letter that viciously attacks the representative.  It is very easy to lose credibility when you let your anger and frustration get the best of you, especially in a public effort such as this.

• FACE-TO-FACE

Meeting with an elected official face-to-face can be an extremely effective way of communicating your views to your representatives.  When your representatives think about their district, you don’t want them to see a portion of a map with a border around it.  You want them to see the people, the personal stories, and the lives that they affect every time they cast a vote.  The best way to ensure this is by attending committee meetings and sessions.  In order to speak at these meetings, simply contact the secretary of the committee chair and ask to be put on the agenda.  It is also smart to provide the secretary with the testimony that you plan on giving beforehand.  This ensures that even those who are on the committee but not present at the meeting will still be exposed to what you have to say when the agenda is sent to them.

Attending city council and school board meetings is another very effective way of communicating face-to-face with those who represent you.  As we learned in a recent post by Beka Romm, it is essential for citizens to attend these meetings in order to hold our local government accountable.  These officials are much more likely to “behave themselves” when the citizens are watching and actively engaged in the process.  If appropriate, use your like-minded organization to back you up when sharing your views at these meetings.  Not only does it show the council or board that you are not the only citizen who feels a certain way about a particular issue; but it is also a good way to raise awareness about your organization and grow your group to potential new members that may also be in attendance.

• KNOW YOUR STUFF!
  

It is essential to the credibility of your argument or opinion to be as knowledgeable as possible about whatever issue you are concerning yourself with.  Assert yourself as an expert or valuable source to your representatives.  If it is evident that you have done your research, you and your argument will be taken much more seriously.  Some representatives will actually take the letters or emails that they receive from constituents into committee meetings and sessions and use them as a reference when arguing for or against legislation.  If your representatives are going up to bat for you and using the information that you provided them with, lend them credibility by checking your facts and doing your research.

If you are unhappy with your representatives’ behavior, hold them accountable for their actions, or lack thereof, by communicating your concerns to them in an effective manner that will be responded to.