Influencing lake policy
Statewide (and local) policy decisions matter to local lakes. The Wisconsin Association of Lakes (WAL) is committed to mobilizing a network of citizens who are empowered to speak for lake interests. State legislators need to hear from their constituents as well as from WAL to factor lake concerns into their decision-making process.
The Legislator's job: it ain't easy being elected
All of us—including legislators—have strengths and weaknesses, things we know more about, things we know less about, things we have very little interest in. Legislators have a wide variety of backgrounds—Realtor, farmer, small business owner, attorney, doctor—after all, they represent us, and we are all different.
It should be no surprise that legislators may be experts in some subjects and know very little about others. Other legislators, interest groups representing memberships, and well-informed constituents can all factor into how a given legislator will vote on a given issue. And it can be difficult to tell the difference between a good idea and a bad idea.
If you or I are not doing our jobs, we have a direct supervisor who is probably documenting our poor performance, and when we get fired its for a quantifiable reason (or it should be unless our employer is risking a lawsuit). A legislator’s supervisors are their constituents, who give an up or down vote, not a nuanced performance review. A legislator has the opportunity to loose their job on a predictable electoral cycle if the majority of the folks—not all of whom are necessarily engaged, well informed, or following a wide variety of policy issues—say “time’s up!”
It is up to us to hold them accountable for their decisions (if constituents don’t, democracy loses, and so do the resources like lakes that many people feel passionately about). We must underscore the importance (and responsibility) of being a well-informed and articulate constituent for the issues you care about. Legislators do listen, and they need local experts to offer input, and help them make good decisions for our lakes.
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Why you should communicate with legislators
With more than 1200 bills in any given legislative session, there’s a good chance your communication will bring the details of a bill to your legislator’s attention for the first time.
Constituents are the most effective lobbyists for legislators. After all, constituent votes determine whether the elected official remains elected. By taking the time to communicate with your legislator you have the opportunity to educate your legislator about the details of natural resource bills, and how those bills will affect the resources and people in their district.
You will also encourage your legislator to share their position with you. It's rare that a legislator will give a firm yes or no answer on a bill. If they do, great, you'll know where they are coming from, which is valuable information even if they don't agree with you. If you get an answer that seems noncommittal, it could mean that your legislator is considering many points of view and has not made a decision yet. Don't be discouraged.
Part of a legislator's job is to make constituents happy so they are allowed to keep their job. It is good to be well versed in the legislative process so you have a context to gauge your legislator's response with the potential future of a particular bill.
Have you ever heard someone say, our Representative is really great they just introduced a bill to fix our problem! Well, introduction in one house of the legislature is pretty far away from changing the law. More important is how many other legislators think the bill is a good idea, and whether they have any influence or are a committee chair that can get it moving forward. Even more important, is the bill viable in both houses of the legislature. There are plenty of bills passed in one house that have no chance of making it through the other. The Senate can comfortably vote for a bill and say to their constituents “see we tried and we passed the bill” knowing full well it won’t go anywhere in the Assembly. And vice versa.
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Being an effective citizen advocate: dispelling common myths
“My legislators always vote the right way so my comments don’t matter”
Legislators may need to go out on a political limb to make the “right” vote. Your support gives them the documentation they need to prove to their colleagues that they are doing right by their constituents.
“My legislators never vote the right way, so my comments don’t matter”
You may feel like your viewpoint is being ignored, but even when a legislator doesn’t switch their vote to match your opinion, they have taken note that there is a concern in their district. It can be hard to gauge what effect your communication may have, but it’s there. Possibly they will support an amendment to a bill, maybe they will avoid pushing the bill forward in the legislative process, or maybe they will actually change their mind.
“Signing onto a form postcard or form e-mail won’t matter to my legislators”
Most of us lead busy lives and most legislators understand that a “form” letter doesn’t make your opinion less valuable. Although WAL encourages everyone to personalize communications as much as possible (what you value about your lake etc), a postcard/letter still demonstrates that you found a moment to be informed on issues that impact your environment and you took action.
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What are the best ways to communicate with legislators
Communication is relationship building. To build a good relationship, approach your legislator when looking for support and to thank them for a good vote. Recognize that legislators make sacrifices to do what they do. Even when you disagree with your legislators on one issue, they may support you on a different issue later on down the road. Never burn bridges, you may need to cross the water at a different point. Try to find another matter on which you can agree and affirm their work.
In any communication be sure to provide your full contact information, including your voting address. Also include any identifiers that will clue the legislators into your role in the community, anything from being a lake district commissioner, to owning a small business, to leading a local trout fishing group.
What are the best ways to communicate with your legislator (listed in order of general effectiveness):
- Meeting one-on-one
- Personalized letter
- Phone call
- Personalized e-mail
- Form letter generated by an organization
- Form e-mail
- Form Fax
- Participating in a call-in campaign
- Form postcard
- Signing a petition
Other less typical forms of communication, such as testifying at a public hearing, attending a town hall meeting, and submitting letters to the editor and editorials to the local media can also be highly effective.
Of course timing and resources will dictate what kind of communication is possible for you, but the moral of the story is any form of communication from a constituent is influential.
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