What I learned from the Native Plant Society

By Judy Herman, Foggy View Editor

The national election results hit David Berman hard. “I felt shocked, depressed, paralyzed, and afraid,” the president of the South Coast Chapter of the California Native Plant Society said. But he knew he couldn’t remain paralyzed. It was time to act. He invited staffers from officials’ offices to a CNPS meeting to teach how to influence legislators.

Representatives of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Congressman Ted Lieu, California Sen. Ben Allen and Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi fielded questions at the April 3rd meeting.

The most effective way of influencing public officials is by meeting with them or their staff in person, the panel members agreed. Since Sen. Feinstein represents the entire state of California, forget about individual meetings with her, advised her field representative Sabiha Khan. But group meetings, town halls or community meetings are effective. Look for annual events like Earth Day and events honoring community activists. If your group forms a coalition with other groups, officials are more likely to attend your events. Sign up for officials’ newsletters to find out where they will be. Rep. Lieu is active on Twitter, according to his district director Nicolas Rodriquez.

Phone calls and meetings with field office staff are good too. It’s hard to get through to D.C. offices; local field offices are easier. Calls can be quick and painless, just long enough to say you are a constituent and you favor or oppose a piece of pending legislation, according to Andrew Deblock, Senior Field Representative for Muratsuchi. You can also spend more time getting to know staff members and sharing expertise you may have. Personal information and anecdotes help strengthen the connection and increase staffers’ understanding of why the legislation is important, and may make them more likely to discuss your views with their bosses, Deblock said.