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Attending Town Meetings

 

Be active in the political process by participating in local meetings hosted or attended by your elected officials on the municipal, state and federal levels. Their formats should encourage you to ask about a lawmaker’s position, thoughts, past actions or future plans regarding a specific matter or concern. Whether it’s a formal Q&A held at your local library or a more casual get-together at a coffee shop, you can help the Gamecocks and its Heritage by seeking out and attending these local events.

 

A large and well-informed turnout at a town hall meeting is an extremely effective way to send a strong message to your congressperson, the media, and the general public (via the media). If your lawmaker is supportive of your issue, a show of support helps to solidify his or her position.

 

Sometimes lawmakers participate in events not open to the public, except by invitation. If you know of an event that you would like to attend, but it is not open to the public, call the legislator’s office and ask if you can attend. In general, when attending and speaking at town meetings, conduct yourself as you would when testifying at a hearing or meeting with your elected officials.

 

Before the town meeting…

 

Find out the legislator’s schedule. Newspapers often publish these dates, or sometimes the lawmaker will send out a schedule to voters in his or her district. The most reliable way to find the schedule is to call his or her office.

 

Try to recruit several others to attend the meeting with you. Inform them of the date, time, address, and nature of the meeting. If you have the time and resources, it is helpful to produce a flyer with all the pertinent information, a map to the site, and talking points/sample questions.

 

Think about how the congressperson will likely respond to your questions, and prepare in advance with answers and follow-up questions.

 

At the town meeting… How to Participate

 

If you attend one of these meetings, be prepared by employing the following strategies that will help you to be heard:

 

1. Brevity is all-important, so work on your potential comments ahead of time and be sure that you’ll be able to offer a tight, focused presentation. (For example, use one of our Advocacy Alert to provide you with talking points.) Legislators have limited time in those meetings and what will get their attention is a brief, relevant question with one vivid, short example.

 

2. Clearly and concisely explain the issue and ask the legislator if he or she is aware of the matter and what steps are being taken to address it. Be specific. Do you want him to cosponsor a bill, state his position, make a vote for or against a measure or take some other action to get a bill enacted?

 

3. Always be polite, clear, unemotional, professional, and to the point —and do not be surprised if the legislator is not aware of the issue at all. If necessary, ask the lawmaker to get back to you with the information you requested.

 

4. Provide your name, contact information, and question on a piece of paper. Do not overload your legislator with written material; one page of well-honed information is more likely to be read.

 

5. If the public official wants more information that you do not have, or has questions to which you do not know the answers, simply respond that you don’t know but will get that information—and then make sure you do get back to him or her in a timely manner.

 

6. Regardless of whether the legislator is focused and/or interested in what you have to say, please be sure to thank him or her for this opportunity.

 

7. If the legislator appears to have staffers with him, try to introduce yourself and get their business cards. Staff assistants are key people when a legislator is making a political decision. If you get them on your side, it can really further your efforts!

 

8. If you attend with a group, wear stickers or buttons to identify that you are all in support of a common issue

 

Your goals will likely be to make the lawmaker aware that as a constituent, you care about a certain matter; to ask him or her to take the same position; and to encourage him or her to help introduce, pass or defeat a measure (as appropriate).

 

Public speaking is not easy for many people—but the more you do it, the easier it gets. Even if you are a bit nervous asking your question, remember that everyone has to start somewhere!

 

If members of the media happen to be in attendance and ask you for a statement afterwards, proceed with caution. Do not bash a legislator who does not agree with you. Focus on the importance of the issue and diplomatically indicate that you are hopeful that with constituent pressure the legislator will come to see the value of that issue. Remember, today’s opponent may be tomorrow’s ally, so never burn bridges or close doors. Legislators are people, too!

 

Follow Up

 

1. Ask for a private meeting to discuss the matter further. Send a letter reminding the legislator of your interest and question, or call her office a few days later for more information.

 

2. Keep an eye on your local media (newspapers and television) to see if the meeting has been covered. If you see that a newspaper covered the meeting but did not report on your issue, take the time to draft a brief Letter to the Editor.

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