Politics: Speaking and writing to lawmakers and politicians

May 16, 1:29 AMAnchorage Family ExaminerKellie Davis

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A few columns ago I introduced communicating with lawmakers and told my internet audience why it is important to me. In a nutshell, I am a religious volunteer who has expanded her work to the secular in various situations and I have politely spoken out in public only to be laughed at, the erstwhile comic being the politician who thought it would be funny to suggest that capital punishment would be a great deterrent to the climbing recidivism rates.
 

Since part of my volunteer work is with women in prison, I have also worked with families of inmates and people just struggling with problems. As a college intern in social work as well as a former volunteer with CASA, Hospice and animals needing homes, I have been with a lot of groups. People facing end of life issues, child welfare cases, and abused or forgotten pets are often affected adversely by laws that cause more problems than they solve so I have directed them, often feeling disenfranchised, to writing letters. In this article I will reference people dealing with corrections related and legal issues, but the advice that I have to give can be extended to anyone wanting to work with lawmakers to change a problem or a law.
 

E. Ross of Bent Alaska says that, “Speaking truth to power is risky, but if you don't ask, you won't receive.” I hope that I can show you how to start asking for what you need with eventually getting responses that make statutes friendly and living easier for you. While government doesn’t owe the people a living, it is there to serve the people.
 

Legislation on certain issues can be a tough sell. For the last 20 years, politicians have been trying to “get tough on crime” when in fact they have been basing their ideas on attitudes posturing rather than practices. In short, politicians have been putting brawn, not brains, toward their approach on crime and corrections treatment. Corrections facilities everywhere are dependent upon the laws that govern them and the funding they are given. No matter sympathetic a corrections facility member is toward an individual, if they are told that their mission is to punish the individual and not rehabilitate him or her, they will not treat that person in a manner that is going to rehabilitate them. It’s the same thing for a judge who gets a person convicted of a crime that he or she feels deserves a lighter sentence, or maybe has questions on evidence that the jury accepted, but they have minimum standards for sentencing. Is it the correctional facility’s fault? Was the judge being a jerk? No. The problem goes back to the lawmaking body that created the laws. How do people who already feel drug down and put down by society handle the rejections and occasional public ridicule? (Posse up with supporters if you have any concern about your ability to handle ridicule, and let the emotionally stronger of you speak. Jeff of the Alaska ACLU says to never, ever swear or get angry because the staffers will remember you. You can get more bees with honey. The lawmakers only show how they feel at the present time. With kindness, they are more likely to come around, but they won't come around because of you.)

Patricia Purcell, a former school board member, tells of going to Juneau (Alaska’s state capital) and letting lawmakers know of what the schools needed. She met with certain lawmakers who did not take her seriously. She said that “it doesn’t have to be schools. It can be senior health care, PTA, education for children with disabilities, money for the museum, a new major at the university, if it’s not on their agenda, they may not presently care. You have to take it in stride and keep going back.”

Writing to lawmakers can be a lot like sending submissions to editors, only you may sometimes feel like you get turned down more often. I have to admit that since that day where I got laughed at in front of a bunch of religious conservatives while the thoughtless politician joked about capital punishment curing recidivism, I don’t mind the benign rejection slips that end up in my mail box every day.  When you are up against years of a groups’ blanket approach to an issue, expect them to initially reject your ideas.
 

Steve Wylder of On the Slow Train, on writing to lawmakers, advises us (for this article):

(1).  Keep it short, to the point, and on one issue.  Since I'm heavily into railroads, let's say you want Alaska to get in on the high-speed rail boom and request funds to upgrade the Alaska Railroad to 120 mph standards between Anchorage and Fairbanks.  Give the officeholder your argument clearly and concisely.  If you want to argue against hunting from helicopters, or against capital punishment, do that in separate letters.  Try to keep it to one page, or the equivalent of a page, if you're e-mailing.
 
(2). Use proper and respectful forms of address.  I don't address my governor as, "Dear _____ ______, who ought to be in the slammer for insider trading," even though I'd like to.  Instead:
 
The Honorable [Governor’s Name]
Governor of [State]
[Address Number and Street]
[CITY, STATE] [ZIP]
 
Dear Governor [Surname]:
 
 
Even though I might night think him to be honorable, I'd use the form.  It's the office, not the person, I'm calling honorable.  And I'd use this format in an e-mail, for that matter.  I'd close with:
 
Sincerely yours,
 
 
Stephen Wylder
Address
e-mail address
phone
 

Writing with brevity is near impossible for me, but I manage to perfom miracles for the sake of my causes! Pay attention to Steves’ first paragraph. If you have other issues, make them separate issues for other letters. Lawmakers don’t have time to decipher letters with all kinds of issues. Tell them what you need and why, then sign off.
 

Donna Leone Hamm of Middleground Prison Reform has a other ideas to offer for someone writing about prison reform:

When speaking to any legislator, it is critical to be well-informed and know the position of your opponent (there will always be someone on the opposite side of your issue).  No matter what aspect of your position the legislator wants to discuss, you need to be prepared to discuss it in a well-reasoned, thoughtful way. Do your homework!
 
One of the best ways to present prison-reform/re-entry issues for prisoners is to base an argument on cost-savings to the taxpayer, as well as on the concept of long-term public safety.  It's difficult to move a politician off of his "tough on crime" rhetoric uless you can move him to "smart on crime."
 
Never, ever, ever lie about an issue you are lobbying for; it will always come back at you in very negative ways.  For prisoner advocates, this is doubly true since you begin in a very disadvantaged position in the first place.

Lose gracefully.  Legislators may come and go, but the staff is the institutional "memory" of any legislative body, and they will remember you.

Remember that everything takes time. The women’s movement in the United States started in 1848, but there were no women’s shelters until 1973 in St. Paul, then they took off. Women didn’t even vote until 50 years later and only one woman from the original convention, Charlotte Woodward who was 19 at the time, was 81 when she was finally able to cast her vote on August 26, 1920. Women would continue to fight for equality every step of the way over the next 160 years. It was only 17 years ago that it became illegal in all states to rape one's wife! One of my older busines friends told me that in times past, prior to the 1960's, there were restaurants where women were not allowed to dine unless accompanied by a man. (I cannot find a reference to this, however. It makes sense because even 20 years ago, my ex and I would go out to eat and ask if a place had a high chair. Now my husband and I ask where the high chairs are. It was a major deal for women to eat at restaurants; women brought kids and babies!)

Find out who needs to help you with your problem. Do you know who your United States Senator and Congress members are? Go here and here. Have a friend edit your letter if you are at all worried.

Pray for endurance, stay polite and keep going back. What affects you and your family? Are you disappointed that lawmakers don't up to amount of money for doctors to get paid, so they don't accept Medicare? Have the sentencing guidelines been overly long and you as a single person with children are having a hard time sending your loved on in prison the $200 a month that he or she needs to be somewhat comfortable? Do you feel that your schools are being underfunded?  Do you feel that your museum needs an expansion? Get involved in the civil, public process. It's your right as a citizen and your responsibility to your people.

The fight is worth it for the next generation.