Education & Advocacy - Advocacy Tips

Tip 1: Get to know your leg­is­la­tors. Read their biog­ra­phy. What com­mit­tees do they serve on? What are their areas of leg­isla­tive inter­est? Is their spouse employed? If yes, what is their pro­fes­sion? Much of this infor­ma­tion is avail­able on the State Leg­is­la­ture web­site at www.lsb.state.ok.us

Tip 2: When you talk to a leg­is­la­tor, tell them your name, your busi­ness and, most impor­tantly, tell them if you are a con­stituent of theirs. Leg­is­la­tors are more likely to accept phone calls or vis­its from con­stituents who live or vote in their dis­trict rather than indi­vid­u­als who do not have a con­nec­tion to the dis­trict they represent.

Tip 3: Be polite. Lis­ten, even if you don’t agree. Be open, hon­est and respectful.

Tip 4: Get to know your legislator’s exec­u­tive assis­tant. These indi­vid­u­als hold the “keys to access” of the legislator.

Tip 5: Know the issues. You don’t need to be an expert on the issue you are advo­cat­ing. But, it helps to iden­tify leg­is­la­tion by the bill num­ber and author and, when pos­si­ble, give the leg­is­la­tor the cur­rent sta­tus of the bill. Again, this infor­ma­tion can be found on the State Leg­is­la­ture web­site at www.lsb.state.ok.us.

Tip 6: Be spe­cific and con­cise when you speak. Explain why you sup­port or oppose a mea­sure, but keep it short. Ask for their help.

Tip 7: Know the oppo­si­tion to the mea­sure. Odds are good you will be asked, “Who opposes this mea­sure?” Know the answer and be hon­est in your response.

Tip 8: If you don’t know some­thing, admit it and offer to “find out and I’ll get back with you.”

Tip 9: Fol­low up is very impor­tant. Write a note or email thank­ing the leg­is­la­tor for their time and restat­ing your request or support.

Tip 10: Never threaten. You may need the sup­port of this leg­is­la­tor in the future.

Con­tact­ing by phone: It is good to call leg­is­la­tors at the State Capi­tol before noon, Mon­day through Thurs­day, dur­ing the leg­isla­tive ses­sion. If your leg­is­la­tor is not there, leave a mes­sage that includes your name, phone num­ber and the issue/bill of interest.

Con­tact­ing by mail: Address you let­ter to “The Hon­or­able (insert name)” and put the legislator’s title (exam­ple, Dear Sen­a­tor) in the salu­ta­tion. Be polite, clear and brief; keep it to one page. Indi­vid­u­al­ize your let­ter and avoid form let­ter for­mats. Ask your leg­is­la­tor to state his or her posi­tion on the issues when reply­ing to your let­ter. Include all your con­tact infor­ma­tion (phone, email, postal address). Con­tact only your representative.