|
| |
MEET JEFF MARTIN
Grassroots Lobbying
By Jeff Martin
Most legislation takes years of being introduced, debated and amended before
becoming law. Working with the state legislature takes a lot of patience and
persistence and although Money (Campaign Donations) is the most effective way to
get the attention of a politician. I am going to focus on other less expensive
ways that also work.
Being able to sway public opinion is an asset when attempting to pass
legislation. Politicians read newspapers, watch the news, and tend to listen to
public sentiment. Letters to the editor, opposition editorials and guest
articles in your local daily/weekly papers are all ways to influence the way a
legislator votes. Many of your smaller community newspapers are starved for news
to publish and will usually print articles submitted by the general public. This
is an excellent way to communicate with elected officials and to influence your
local community. If your article is published always be sure to clip the article
and mail it to your state legislators. Letters to the editor are almost always
published. It too is a quick, easy and effective way to influence legislators.
Many of the Humane Societies regularly write articles and have a presence on the
radio and television. Use this opportunity to influence both the legislator and
the reader. Talk about specific legislation and get the community involved.
Befriend a local reporter and feed them story ideas and information. Reporters
rely on leads for good stories. Nothing makes a reporter happier than someone
who provides them with a good story and can provide lots of factual information
and research. Some Shelters around the state have great connections with radio
and television stations and appear regularly on them. If we have important
legislation coming up call these friends and ask them to start talking about it
to their listeners.
Learn who your state Legislator is and introduce yourself to them. A personal
relationship allows you more communication. If you know the spouse, neighbor, or
golfing buddy of your legislator take advantage of it and talk to them about the
importance of Humane Societies and specific legislation.
Volunteer your time and get involved in local political campaigns. Find out who
is running, what the issues are and spend some time campaigning for the
candidate you like. Recruit an animal lover to run for the state legislature, or
run yourself.
Make sure you are a registered voter. Being registered to vote is power. You are
a constituent. The one thing legislators fear most is chaos amongst their
constituency. Talk to your neighbors, Board members, friends and employees to
generate phone calls, emails and letters. Many times it takes as few as a dozen
phone calls from constituents to make a legislator rethink his/her position on a
particular vote. Placing a phone call to your state legislator is the best way
to communicate your opinion and it works.
In 2000 the “Pet Protection Act” was passed two hours before midnight on the
last night of the session. Animal lovers from across the state made thousands of
phone calls to the Senate leadership and those that were against the bill the
last week of the session. Radio stations were pleading with listeners to get
involved and talk of the legislation was leading local news telecasts. On that
final legislative day, dozens of supporters were at the statehouse, some even
with dogs that had been abused and tortured. The Lt. Governor told the senate
chamber that if this bill didn’t pass his wife wasn’t going to allow him to come
home. The passage of this legislation happened because of a tremendous
grassroots effort by citizens who cared. We didn’t have any money, but we were
able to influence our politicians by getting involved. Lets get involved when
the Alabama State Legislature convenes in February of next year.
| |
|
