Tips on Making Contact With Your Elected Officials

• Find Out Who Your Legislators Are
   
• Learn More About Your State Senator (Background, phone number, fax number, address, e-mail, etc.)
   
• Learn More About Your State Representative (Background, phone number, fax number, address, e-mail, etc.)
   

With good preparation, a personal visit may be the single most effective method of influencing your elected representative. (It is hard to say NO to someone in a face to face meeting).

A personal visit with your Representative or Senator can be anxiety-creating, exciting, rewarding and even fun. The following are some steps and tips to make such a visit most effective.

Before Your Visit:

Make an appointment.

• Make contact by letter or by phone to meet at a district office or the Capitol office.
• Confirm appointment by phone, mail, or fax.
• Appointments with legislative aids are also valuable.
   

Brief yourself about your legislator

• General extent of the district.
• Committee assignments.
• Number of terms served.
• Professional background.
• Voting record on issues of  interest to the recreational angling community.
• Views stated publicly on these issues.

Define the objectives of your visit.

• Is your objective to get acquainted, express general views, or discuss specific issues?
• Limit the number of issues to be discussed.
• Brief yourself on the facts surrounding the issue and your views on it.
• Briefly outline your comments and/or prepare written summary.
   

Anticipate.

• Appointment may start late.
• Legislator may be in session and unavailable - Plan to either wait, meet with staff, or make a new appointment.
• Lengths of meeting may range from 10-15 minutes to an hour.
• Who (if going as a group) will be spokesperson, introduce group, guide conversation, provide summary of issue concern, assign specific roles to each participant, etc?
  
   

While You Are There:

Introduce yourself, giving BRIEF information on your...

• Place and length of residence  and occupation.
• Your voter/political involvement .
• Group you are representing (if any).  Do NOT claim to represent the views of RFA / Texas unless you have been officially authorized to do so.
• Your experience and expertise relevant to the issue for discussion. Do NOT represent yourself as an expert unless you truly are, and have the credentials to prove it.
   

Set climate of visit.

• Be on time
• Be positive and friendly - not argumentative
• Acknowledge areas of agreement
• Acknowledge areas of appreciation
   

State reason for visit.

• Be concise and specific
• State position and recommendation on issue
• Identify your position or that of group which you represent
• Leave a written summary of your position,  reference material, and your calling card if applicable.
• Ask for related legislative materials: copy of bill, analysis of bill, brochures on Senate or House, etc.
   

During the conversation.

• Meet and write down names of staff person assigned your issue of concern
• Don't let questions or comments derail your purpose
• Admit it if you need to think more about a new point raised; ask if they will consider a written response later
• Ask specific questions; request specific responses
• Explore options of attending committee meetings or hearings.
  
  
   

After Your Visit

Debrief.

• With members of group or another person about the experience
• Determine possible next steps
• Inform RFA / TEXAS about the outcome.

Write a letter.

• Thank legislator for visit
• Summarize the visit, comment on what was said by all parties present
• Identify follow-up steps committed by legislator and yourself
• Respond to points not addressed in your visit
• Reiterate issue, position, and recommendations
• Express intention to continue dialogue
• Itemize names, addresses, phone numbers, etc. of all participants in visit
   

A well written personal letter is an excellent method to influence your elected representative. Most lawmakers feel that since you have taken the time to write a personal  letter, they should take the time to read it.

Here are a few brief guidelines on writing such letters. For more information regarding contact by letter, see our "Contacting Your Representative By Mail"  page.
 

• Address your legislator as either "Senator" or "Representative."
   
• Write on your personal or business letterhead, and identify yourself,  and that you are a member of the Texas State Chapter of the Recreational Fishing Alliance
   
• Try to keep your letters to one page, and put your message in your own words. Be short and to the point.
   
• Ask the legislator to reply, and ask very directly whether he or she will support your position.
   
• You will get more flies with honey than with vinegar. Like everyone else, legislators do not like a
   threatening tone.
   
• Be sure that your legislator receives the letter before action is taken on the issue.
   
• Be sure to thank the legislator.
   
• Letters may be mailed or faxed. Time constraints or potential delays due to security procedures may dictate the use of fax. However, most legislators agree that the fax shouldn't be used in place of more traditional methods, such as a letter, because fax machines are used mostly for inter-office correspondence and tend to become overloaded. Often faxes aren't given much credence and are sometimes thrown away because their volume makes them difficult to deal with. The increase in technological communication wears out the staff. When the use of fax is necessary, it is wise to call the representatives office and ask the staff to be alert to your fax before sending it.

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 Phone Calls
A  properly conducted telephone conversation can be nearly as effective as a letter. Following these guidelines will make your phone call as effective as possible.
 

• Call your legislator at his/her office in the Capitol, or Regional Office.
   
• Address your legislator as either "Senator" or "Representative."
   
• If you can’t get through to a legislator directly, ask to speak to the staffer who is handling the issue. Otherwise, convey your message to the person who answered the phone.

• Be sure to identify yourself, and that you are a member of the Texas State Chapter of the Recreational Fishing Alliance.
   
• Be prepared with a message. Get straight to the point by telling the legislator or staff member who you are and why you are calling.
   
• Keep your call brief - let the other person know in short and concise terms why you are for or against something -- most calls to legislators only last a few minutes.
   
• Be convincing. Let them know that this is important to you.
   
• Thank him/her for their attention to the matter, and let them know that you are looking forward to seeing how the legislator votes on the issue.

• If you know your legislator has been supportive of your position, make a point of thanking him/her for past support.
   

• If you have previously met with the legislator, contributed to a campaign, or had some other contact, don't hesitate to remind him/her or their staff of this information.
   

• To ensure that your call is being registered, ask for a reply. Always keep them accountable. When you call, ask for a written response
   

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  E-mail

   Despite much misinformation to the contrary, E-mail is probably the least effective way to influence your elected representative.  It is quick and easy, but lacks the personal touch of a face to face visit, letter or telephone call. It is a one way communication, and one has little assurance that it is even noticed. Most replies you receive will just be a form letter, often automatically generated. Although it may be better than nothing, remember that most legislators are flooded by hundreds or thousands of mass produced E-mails every day. Yours can easily be lost in the shuffle, even if it is ever read. Also remember that most legislators will NOT open any E-mail with attachments. The most effective E-mails are generally those which involve simply filling out the automated form letter sometimes available on a legislator's website. If you need to provide the legislator with information via electronic format, it is best to call a staff member at the legislators office in advance, and find out how to best go about it. They sometimes have discrete E-mail addresses or special procedures for such situations.

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Getting To Know Your Legislators
Six Steps to Building An Effective Relationship

Building relationships with key state/federal officials is best done before their assistance is needed on an issue. Here is a simple 6 -step way to build an effective relationship with your legislators.

1. Register to vote if you have not done so already, and be sure to vote in every election.

2. Learn a little about your state government. On this website you will find two short pieces entitled 
"How A Bill Becomes Law in Texas"  and  "The Legislative Branch of Texas Government"  Take the time to review these brief yet informative pieces.

3. Learn the names of your state legislators and a little bit about them (IE: backgrounds, number of years as a legislator, committee assignments, legislation that they have supported, etc.)

4. Put your name on legislators’ mailing lists. Call your legislators’ offices and ask to be put on their mailing lists. Legislators frequently mail news briefs to their constituents on information that is specific to the community.

5. Meet your elected officials. Personal contact with elected officials is essential to developing effective relationships. Opportunities may develop through local or state business organizations, local civic or charitable organizations, or through political functions.

6. Communicate. Call or write your legislators on both the good and the bad. Let them know when you are pleased with their actions, and constructively communicate to them when you are not. If you are concerned about an issue, let your elected officials know how it will affect you, your family, the economy, and the recreational angler in general. Remember that you have unique and influential insight to offer on issues.

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