Meet Your Elected Officials

A personal meeting with your elected officials is one of the best ways to advocate for hiking issues that are important to you. You don’t need to be an expert lobbyist to schedule a meeting. Most elected officials are eager to meet their constituents to hear their concerns and recommendations.

You will most commonly meet with your elected officials to persuade them to vote your way on a specific piece of legislation. You may also want to meet with your elected officials to educate them about a trail issue before it gets to the point of becoming a specific bill.

Schedule a meeting

• Call your elected official’s office to schedule an appointment.
• Identify yourself as a constituent and state where you live.
• Briefly explain what issue you would like to discuss.
• If the official is unavailable, request to meet with a legislative aide or another staff person who is responsible for or knowledgeable about your issue.
• Send an email to confirm the appointment. Include the time, date and location of the meeting, as well as your name, address and phone number.

Prepare for the Meeting

• Practice your message before you meet with your elected official. Keep your message succinct and include brief personal stories or experiences that demonstrate why this issue is important to you.
• Develop an outline of your main points. Try to customize your presentation to the elected official’s views, interests and constituency. Research their voting record to determine what line of reasoning might be most effective.
• Develop a list of arguments in support of and against your position. Avoid being unprepared in case your elected official disagrees with you.
• Prepare your presentation in a letter or fact sheet to leave with your elected official.
• Role-play your meeting with others who can provide feedback, and practice until you are confident in presenting your message.

During the Meeting

• Be on time and dress professionally for the meeting. First impressions count.
• Relax. Don’t worry if you’re not an expert. You just need to demonstrate genuine concern for the issue.
• Introduce yourself and thank your elected official for taking the time to meet with you. If possible start your meeting off on a positive note by thanking your elected official for a recent vote. Attempt to make a personal connection by indicating if you have any shared business, family or social connections.
• Keep your opening remarks short and to the point. Explain your position and what you want your elected official to do. If particular legislation is involved, state the bill number, name and sponsors.
• Be courteous and direct but also firm about your position. Stay focused on one issue and always ask for a specific action on the part of the official. For instance, ask them to vote for or cosponsor a bill you support. Try to get a commitment from them.
• Use your prepared letter or fact sheet to keep you on track in case you lose your train of thought. Make sure that the information you are presenting is limited enough to allow time for questions and discussion.
• When you have finished your presentation, listen carefully to your elected official’s response and take notes if necessary. Ask your elected official what you can do to help them support your position.
• Answer any questions to the best of your availability. If you do not know an answer, tell your elected official you will follow up after the meeting to provide that information.
• Remember to leave the elected official or staff person a copy of your letter, fact sheet and any other information.
• Thank the elected official and staff members for their time even if they did not agree with your position.

After the Meeting

• Take notes immediately after the meeting including main discussion points, your elected official’s remarks and any follow up questions.
• Promptly send a thank you letter or email to all the people involved in the meeting. Use the letter to restate your position, remind the official what you asked for, provide additional information and answer any remaining questions. Restate any commitment to your position your elected official made during the meeting, and thank him/her for taking the time to meet with you.

Contact Your Elected Officials

Pennsylvania
Find and schedule a meeting with your Governor
Find and schedule a meeting with your State Senator and State Representative

US Senators and House of Representatives
Find and schedule a meeting with your Senator 
Find and schedule a meeting with your House Representative
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