Focus on Grassroots Advocacy:
Get involved. be heard. be influential.

By Mike Kirby, Rehabilitation For Wisconsin, Inc.

Contacting and building a relationship with your elected officials is key to influencing how they understand and vote on issues.

Many people ask the question what is "grassroots advocacy?" Grassroots advocacy is the process of contacting and influencing your elected officials on all levels of government. It is a fundamental right and duty of all citizens to express how they feel about issues and programs to elected officials who will make decisions about these issues.

Why is grassroots advocacy so important? Contacting and building a relationship with your elected officials is key to influencing how they understand and vote on issues. Elected officials vote on many issues and rely on their constituents to help them understand the many different programs and issues that involve government. If you take the step to being involved with your elected representatives, you will have a greater impact on government decisions that affect you and you will have more influence than those who do not build a relationship with their elected officials.

Building a relationship with an elected official begins with knowing who they are. For state and federal legislators, go to www.legis.state.wi.us to find out who they represent by just typing in your address. Information on how to contact them is included. County supervisors and other contacts can be located by visiting the Wisconsin Counties Association website (www.wicounties.org) or you can call your county board offices for that information.

Once you have the information on how to contact your elected officials, which method should you use: calling, writing, meeting or email? All have their benefits and you should use the one you feel most comfortable using.

Call: Identify yourself as a constituent and give your name and ask to talk to the elected official. If the elected official is not available either leave the message identifying your issue with a staff person or have the elected official call you back. Most state and federal legislators have district offices and phone numbers.

Write: This option is an excellent way to communicate. Personalize your letter if possible and discuss only one issue in the letter. Once you have stated your request in the letter, make sure you ask them to support your position and to let you know if they support it. Remember to always include your name and address so they know you are a constituent.

Meet: This is a good option to get to know your elected official personally and develop an on-going relationship. Call the elected officials office and request a meeting and tell the office why you want a meeting. County supervisors are in the district all the time so it should be easy to meet with them. State legislators travel to Madison and may not always be available to meet although you have an option to meet with them in their Madison office as well as in the district.

Email: All state and federal offices have this capability and most county supervisors do also. Email should be written like a letter and always include your name and address.

YOU have the power to influence your elected officials’ decisions, but you must take the time to contact them. Make sure you are one of those who have more influence with your elected officials by establising a relationship BEFORE an issue goes to voice and remember to vote in the April election!

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