OK the Greensboro citizenry is supposedly so fired up and so engaged in fighting Sen. Trudy Wade’s bill to restructure the City Council, yet they need N&R columnist Susan Ladd to hold their hands all the way to Raleigh to speak out against it in front of the House Elections Committee:
How to lobby in person
• Take a group, if you can. Visit legislators in groups of six or fewer, making each group as diverse as possible in terms of age, race and background.
• Make a plan. You might want to split into teams, with some teams assigned to representatives in the Legislative Building, and some teams assigned to representatives in the Legislative Office Building.
• Concentrate on Republican representatives, particularly those who have not declared a position either way. Democratic representatives are likely follow the lead of the Guilford Democratic representatives, who are solidly opposed to the bill.
• Note which county or counties they represent and use that as an icebreaker to make a personal connection.
• Give examples of grassroots support for your position, including the forums and hearings in Greensboro that drew hundreds of people who opposed the bill.
• Make your points concisely, because you probably won’t have much time.
• Bring a handout with your main points in writing to leave with each representative you visit.
• Thank them for their time, and follow up with an email.
Do not
• Overstate or misrepresent the facts.
• Talk down to a state representative.
• Display anger or be disrespectful.
• Call other legislators names.
Sometimes I wonder just how stupid our local paper of record thinks we are.* Apparently pretty stupid -publisher Jeff “Grits” Gauger didn’t pick up on one commenter’s sarcasm.
*On second thought, don’t answer that question— I just put my check in the mail to re-up my subscription.
