Advocacy Do's and Don'ts

Advocacy Do's

• Become familiar with legislative staff; they are often the eyes and ears for the legislator.
• Thank legislators for meeting with you and for their support or consideration, even if they are against you.
• Be professional, courteous, positive, direct, clear, concise, factual, credible and specific.
• Always follow up with information you have promised.
• Be sensitive to partisan politics.
• Follow up a visit or telephone call to a legislator with a letter, thanking him/her for what you heard them say they would do.
• Type your fact sheets, letters and testimony. Be sure they include how you can be reached.
• Try to establish a relationship of mutual trust with your legislator.
• Be specific about action you need from you legislator on an issue (e.g. vote "yes" next Tuesday on HB1).
• Attend legislative hearings, committee meetings, budget mark-up sessions and floor votes on your bill.
• Be reliable and honest.
• Show your legislator how they can help you and the district.
• Know what other issues or problems your legislator is working on, and help him/her when you can.
• Treat your legislator as you would like to be treated. Use common sense.
• Be ready to discuss any concerns he/she might have (do your homework).
• Schedule visits in advance.
• Try to combine contacts; a letter by itself is fine, but a letter and a later visit are better.

Advocacy Don'ts

• Don't give inaccurate information, distort facts or purposely lie.
• Don't be rude to a legislator and/or his/her staff.
• Don't make moral judgments based on a vote or an issue.
• Don't ask the public to support or oppose candidates based on their position on one issue.
• Don't waste a legislator's or aide's time.
• Don't begin by saying, "as a citizen and taxpayer…"
• Don't send form letters or letters of more than one page.
• Don't write members of the House when the vote is in the Senate, and vice versa.
• Don't bypass your legislator, and then contact one from another district for help with your issue.
• Don't publicly or privately complain about your legislator or a member of his staff.
• Never start or carry rumors.
• Don't hold grudges or argue.
• Don't cover more than one subject in a contact.
• Don't forget to give the legislator the one-page fact sheet when writing or visiting.
• Don't press for an answer on your first visit.
• Don't blame legislators for all the things that go wrong in government.
• Don't be offended if he/she forgets your name or who you are, even if it is just five minutes after your visit.