How to Engage with Your Elected Officials

Did you know that politicians receive two million more letters and calls from men than from women each year? And that only 10% of op-ed submissions come from women?

For just a moment, let’s put aside the statistics of women serving as elected representatives. (In case you don’t know, the Senate and the House are both made up of only 20% women. For those NYC ladies in the house, only 13 of our 51 City Council Members are women, and it’s likely that number will decrease to 9 at the next election in 2018.)

Beyond that, however, not only are we not running for office (and attaining office), we are not even making our voices heard by the people who are in office.

Granddad J.T. Holliday, serving in the Korean War

Celebrating Memorial Day was particularly poignant for me after last week’s Tide Risers UnstickHer session, which focused on ways to engage with our elected officials. Specifically, it reminded me of our patriotic duty to be engaged in the political process. Coming from a family with a history of military service, I am well acquainted with the sacrifices made by military men and women and their families. Our UnstickHer session reminded me of my responsibility to voice my concern about the quality of care veterans receive when they return from service, and I feel better equipped to do so now.

That’s because we had Courtney Emerson from the All In Together campaign come talk with us to give us practical and efficient strategies for engaging with our elected officials. A few highlights of her presentation included these three things every one of us should do:

1. Know who is representing you and what they are doing.

The All In Together Action Center is a great tool to help you out here. It will give you useful information such as who represents you, what their top issues are, and which committees they serve on. It also provides handy links to write, call, or visit their offices.

2. Set up a Google news alert for your elected officials. 

That way you'll know what they're up to, and whether or not they're fully representing your interests. You can specify how often you want to receive these alerts so your inbox won't completely explode. 

3. Visit opensecrets.org to learn about who is funding your elected officials.

Opensecrets.org will give you, amongst other information, your representative’s top contributors, the top industries funding them, and sources of their funding (individuals vs. PACs, etc.).

We also learned that to communicate with elected officials, form messages are efficient but not as effective as messages that include personal accounts of why an issue is of importance to you. You should include why you personally support or oppose a bill and make a specific request of your representative.

To help us scope out these personal accounts, at our next Tide Risers UnstickHer session Tide Riser and communications guru Danielle Kristine Toussaint will lead a personal storytelling workshop, based on her newly launched project, She Thinks Purple. We’ll learn to identify the elements of our personal story that most resonate and inspire others, which should be very useful for those of us who will be in better communication with our elected officials going forward.

City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal talks with Tide Risers

Back to last week’s UnstickHer session, we were honored to be joined by City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal, who represents New York City’s Sixth District. Councilwoman Rosenthal has a remarkable track record of standing up for largely unpopular but vital school integration issues and saving the city millions of tax dollars through her work on the Council’s Contracts Committee.

Helen was particularly impressive to me because of her relatability. She seemed like she could be one of our Tide Risers. She ran for office because she had a passion for making a difference in her community. Helen works hard. After our evening UnstickHer session, she was going on to two more events before her work day ended. The work load is manageable, she said, because she knows this is her one shot in office to really make a difference.

Luckily for us as citizens, we have more than one shot to make a difference. You can voice your concerns (or support) any day, and it’s easier than you might think. Despite all the many things on my plate as both a mother and an entrepreneur, I believe civic engagement deserves a meaningful position on my to-do list. And I now feel like I have a roadmap to checking that box.

If you have questions about the All In Together campaign or ways you can make your voice heard, please reach out! I would love to read and respond to your comments below on this important topic.