Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Coalition

Legislative Day – March 13, 2003

You Make the Laws:

As constituents, our most effective advocacy is directed at those who most need our votes and at those who are carrying bills we either support or oppose. An advocate’s role is to inform and to educate persuasively. If a legislator opposes an important bill, the best thing an advocate can do is to expose her or him to another way of looking at the issue, rather than trying to convince a legislator of the error of her or his ways. Remember, in the balance of power at a meeting with your legislator, you carry significant clout as a voter, and you want to present your point of view in a way that will be heard.

Here are some practical tips on advocacy meetings with your legislator:

• Making initial contact: Find out who your representative is in your district and call to make an appointment. You can find out who your representative is by simply referencing the first section of your yellow pages or go to www.legislature.state.al.us and scrolling down to zip code look up.
• Preparation: Find out which bills are up for consideration, and what position your representatives have taken on these bills.
• Position: Formulate your own opinion on these bills, and find out if the ADAC has an official position on them. Most advocates try to balance both the interests in their presentation, clearly identifying each opinion as either a personal or official position.
• Presentation: Arrive early to your appointment. Limit your comments to three or four points. Any more than that and you probably won’t be heard. Start by giving your own personal history and giving the legislator or aide the chance to make a personal connection with you.
• Many will be eager to raise their own ties to people with disabilities as a means of establishing common ground. Once the substantive issues are raised, be clear about which bills you are discussing, your position on each bill, and your reasons for your position. Take control of the discussion so that you can guide and pace it according to what you need to cover, but be congenial and polite. You will probably have no more than 15 or 20 minutes.
• Demeanor: The three principles to guide you during the visit should be entitlement, empowerment, and respect. You are entitled to respect, to be heard, and to have your interests represented. There is a balance of power at these meetings: do not give yours away to the legislative staff. Be respectful of others’ opinions: your opinion is as important as anyone else’s, but not more right or wrong. Your demeanor should reflect these principles. In that light, maintain eye contact during your visit. Shake hands when you meet the legislator or aide, and when you depart.
• Appearance: Be neat and well groomed in your appearance. A three-piece suit is not necessary, but jeans are not recommended. The more polished you look, the more you appear to command respect. However, if you are too polished, you may not be given the deference typically afforded to a bona fide constituent.
• Follow-up: You should come to the meeting with a written summary of the issues you intend to raise and your positions on those issues, or you should immediately follow-up the visit by submitting a letter summarizing the issues discussed. This is very important, since legislators and their aides have short memories and long lists of constituents.

Equipped with these navigational tools, the legislative process does not have to be an intimidating one. In fact, most who have done this would probably say that the sense of empowerment derived from advocacy is quite exhilarating. If you have the desire and the willingness to speak out, let your voice be heard.

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