If you don't make your voice heard…who will?

In the spirit of promoting direct action we encourage our members to contact the legislature with concerns and ideas by offering the following links to easily identifying who your representatives are and how to contact them with your input. Our members can dramatically augment the voice of WAOMA's, formerly AAW's lobbyist, in Olympia and have influence over legislation as we become a more active electorate. Prompting our legislative representatives directly on how we want them to represent us is an effective way to do this. The internet makes the ideal of a representative government more of a reality by facilitating fast and easy communication, we need only to take the time to use! Locate your representative by ZIP code:

Politics 101 for WAOMA Legislative Grassroots

Background information
The basis of our political system is democracy. The key component of democracy is majority rule. Democracy is not a spectator sport. It requires the involvement of the people for it to be truly representative. And involvement means voting. Every vote counts, especially in local elections where the result has been decided by a handful of votes. That's why it's so important to register to vote, and vote, so that your voice can be heard.

As you know, in our country, we have three equal branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive is represented by the President and state Governors; the legislative by Congress and state legislatures; and judicial by the Supreme Court and other federal and state courts. For the purpose of this memo, the focus is on the legislative branch of government.

We have a bicameral legislature in Washington state, as do almost all other states, except Nebraska. That means we have two chambers, the House and the Senate. The House of Representatives is composed of 98 members, two from each of the 49 districts in this state. The Senate is composed of 49 members, one from each legislative district. Individuals who live in the legislative district (constituents) elect House and Senate members. Both Senators and Representatives run "at large" in the district. That means that all voters in the district, regardless of where they live, are able to vote in these elections. House members have two year terms while Senators have four year terms. This is similar to Congress, where members of their House also run for election every two years, while Senators run every six. The framers designed the system this way to make the House more responsive to the people by requiring more frequent elections.

The Legislature is constitutionally mandated to meet every year, always beginning on the second Monday in January. This is a throwback to our more agrarian days when there wasn't a lot of farming going on in the Winter. In odd numbered years, like 2005, the Legislature is allowed to meet for up to 105 days. In even numbered years, such as 2004, the Legislature was limited to 60 days. The difference is related to the budget. Biennial budgets are written in odd numbered years, and cover the entire biennium (2005-2007.) Sessions in even numbered years were simply seen as "tune-ups." However, more and more frequently every session is working on major budget and policy issues. It's simply that during a short session, everything seems to be on double-time.

Washington has a "citizen" Legislature. That means that it's part-time, and as a result the vast majority of legislators have jobs in the private or public sector. Being a legislator is only part of what they do.

The most important relationship in politics is the one between a legislator and a constituent…. someone who lives in the legislator's district. They have the power to put that legislator in office or take them out of office. It's that simple.

As a result, most legislators welcome the opportunity to meet with their constituents. They want to learn about issues that are important in their district, and how they can strengthen their base of support. They also welcome constituents who are willing to be resources to them on issues where they may not have any background. Not all legislators sit on the health care committees, fewer still have a health care background, but most are concerned that their constituents have access to care, for example.

Make an appointment. The best way to contact your legislator can vary depending on whether the Legislature is in session or out of session.

During session, use their Olympia phone number or e-mail. Out of session, for issues, or meeting and educating, the same, except that sometimes a legislator will have a district office. That information is usually on the Olympia voice mail. For campaign related contacts, use their campaign contact information only. Do not use their Olympia contact numbers.

Know your goal. For LAcs an excellent goal would be to educate legislators on the important role you play in the health care delivery system. Give them examples of the cost effective care that you provide. Also, speak to them about the importance of retaining every category of provider.

Remember that legislators are people too. There is an incredible bias in our society against "politicians." But what defines a politician? It's just someone who has decided that they care enough about what's happening to run for office. The vast majority take their responsibility very seriously and want to make a difference. Approaching them from that perspective will yield the best results.

Be prepared as best as possible, and then, if a legislator has a question you don't know how to answer, just simply say you don't, and you'll get back to them. Part of being prepared is knowing something about the legislator, what party are they a member of, how long have been in office, what's their background, etc.

Be aware of time constraints. During a session, appointments are approximately 15 minutes. During the interim, they can be about an hour. It's a great advantage to meet during the interim, especially initially.

Listen carefully, speak thoughtfully. If you find something to disagree about, be polite. You can still be a good advocate for your position and be "smart" about how you deliver your message. You don't want to burn a bridge. Sometimes legislators need some education so that they understand the significance of an issue.

Know that if you're meeting with a legislator who is up for election, you can expect to be asked to help with their campaign, or make a contribution. Think through your answer ahead of time.

After the meeting send a thank you note. Not only is it a good way to say "thank you," but it's also a chance to restate some of the points you wanted to emphasize, or follow up on questions that you didn't have the answer for earlier.