1. Engaging Elected Officials
Presenter
Joe Gagen
Presenter: Joe Gagen
Joe Gagen
Successful Advocacy
What are the keys to achieving your objectives
Making the audiences you need care enough to act on your behalf
What messages or actions will move your audiences to care and take the action you want?
Legislative Audience--What do we know about this audience and what is important to this audience?
Voters
Facts
Personal experience
Philosophical beliefs
Financial support to run
Voter intensity or passion
Political party
Lack of expertise on most issues
Lack of time to study issues
Media/public awareness
Persistence of advocates
Impact on taxes/available revenue

2. Successful Legislative Advocacy
Plan of Action
Grassroots Advocacy
Professional Assistance
Media
Secondary Influencers
Elections
Your Message & its Delivery
Organization of Your Resources

3. Outline of Presentation
Keys to Effective Advocacy
Delivering your message

4. I. Keys to Effective Advocacy
First and Foremost: Understand your Audience

10. Architects and Engineers
I I
One Story Thirty Stories

11. Architects and Engineers
I X---I
One Story Thirty Stories
Architects say no need for an engineer until you get to a pretty high number of stories and they believe that

12. Architects and Engineers
I-X I I
One Story Thirty Stories
Engineers say need an engineer at a fairly low number of stories and they believe that

13. Architects and Engineers
I X----X---X I
One Story Thirty Stories
Different states could draw the line at different levels. Point is that this is not an easy issue to decide..never comfortable that you have drawn the line at the correct spot…ultimately a judgment call …
Legislators lack expertise on many issues and…..

14. And You Think You’re Busy
And You Think You’re Busy?? Approximate number of communications received by a Texas Senator’s office during a recent legislative session [140-day session].
4 5,484 bills introduced 
3 1,389 bills passed 
( 2,690 telephone calls 
J 3,500 drop-in visitors 
9   ????? s
- 4,607 letters 
J 2,450 visitors with staff members
* 977 invitations

15. What is it like?
Someone once said that dealing with information during a legislative session was a lot like…..

17. What does a legislator need to keep from making mistakes?

21. Legislative Process Theory: Proactive Process
Reality: Reactive Process
On most issues legislators respond to those who speak up
If you are silent, the assumption is ????

22. Legislative Audience
What factor is the most important or most likely to influence a legislator’s actions?

23. Rick Hardcastle

24. How do we effectively utilize that factor?
Most Important Factor
How do we effectively utilize that factor?

25. Oil Tanker, Insiko abandoned 220 miles from Hawaii
Hokget left on board
$300,000 was spend to the save the dog
“We are best able to respond when we are focused on a single victim.”

26. Stories Persuade
“One hundred dogs do not have a single face, a single name, a single life story around which we can wrap our imaginations and our compassion”
“Our hidden brain—my term for a host of unconscious mental processes that subtly bias our judgment—shapes our compassion into a telescope. We are best able to respond when we are focused on a single (example or ) victim.”

27. Conclusions Constituents Matter
Relationships are the Key (Requires Time)
Passion/Intensity Critical
Personal Stories Persuade/no need to be an expert on legislation/legislative process

28. Effective Legislative Visits The Chocolate Bar Rule

29. The Dragnet Rule

30. Modified Fish and Relatives Rule

31. Charlie McCarthy Rule 31

32. The 7 Contacts Rule