Personal visits are an excellent opportunity to share views and concerns with your elected officials. Most state legislators have local offices and may have more time to spend when the legislature is not in session. City/County officials are also important people to educate and to recruit as spokespersons for issues regarding education. They have access to state legislators and often ask them to submit legislation on city/county issues.
Personal Visits Protocol
Preparing for the meeting:
- Visit in small groups of three or four people whenever you can. Elected officials will have a harder time “out talking” three people than one. Establish roles, including the order in which you will speak and who will speak about what. One person should be responsible for keeping the conversation focused
- Don’t overload the elected official. Discuss no more than two or three issues at a time, and clearly state your position on each. Be clear about the results you want
- Do you want the official to provide you with information?
- Do you want the legislator to support or oppose a bill?
- Are you asking for a commitment?
- What changes do you want made?
- Legislative power is affected by committee assignments and standard legislatives procedures. You must know the landscape, to be most effective
At the meeting
- Begin by introducing yourself and letting the official know you are a constituent and a member of the MVMPCS school community. Also, stress your personal role – parent, volunteer, etc.
- Share the fact sheet (provided by Advocacy Committee) with your elected official. Children’s artwork with a few statistics can have a more personal touch.
- Listen carefully to what the elected official says. Look for indicators of whether the legislator supports your position, opposes your position, or is still undecided. This will help you know if you should offer thanks, be more persuasive, or provide more supplemental information
- If you disagree in an issue, do not become angry or argumentative. The meeting is an opportunity to build a relationship that may be useful at a later time for issues in which you both agree and want to collaborate
After the meeting:
Send a thank-you note with additional supportive resources providing and reinforcing your position.
Also remember:
Legislative aides are important resources for legislators. Brief them when the legislator is unavailable. Develop relationships with them. They may be able to promote your agenda and tell you where the legislator stands on issues.