Betsy's Tips for Building Relationships with Lawmakers

This fall, I'm co-hosting a You're the Cure Southeast Fall Training Series with my Southeast grassroots colleague, Kim Chidester VanVeen. We hosted our first training on September 9th and part of that conversation focused on building relationships with lawmakers. We were honored to have Betsy Vetter, Field Grassroots Director, share her expertise with advocates. Her suggestions were so good, we wanted to share it with everyone! 

Betsy's Tips for Building Relationships with Lawmakers

Do a little research about your lawmakers. Keep in mind, lawmakers are just people - just like you and me.

Get to know something about them, Google them. Take time to learn what are they interested in, what groups are they involved with, what committees do they serve on, what bills have they sponsored, and so on. Then use this to help you connect with them.

How do you get someone’s attention? When will someone act because you asked them to do something? It often times happens when the person asking is recognized and their opinion is valued. 

So, who do you listen to? We tend to listen to our families, friends, perhaps our doctor, our leaders – at work, school, or in society. When someone asks us to do something, we tend to respond because we know the person or that person has some power to influence us. For example, you might make pizza for dinner because your child asked you to do it, or maybe complete homework because a teacher assigned it. It’s through the creation of the relationship that you are able to help your lawmaker get to know you and it will help you when you need their attention. You can start slowly, and your grassroots manager is here to help you!

As an example, several years ago I watched one of our best advocates before he went to talk with his Senator – look around his office at the photos and saw one of a football team. This volunteer loves football and knew they’d have an instant connection. One of our issues that day was daily physical activity – so he also knew he’d found an extra hook to help get the lawmaker’s attention. When he went in the office, as he introduced himself, he told the Senator he was a heart survivor and committed to being active every day and knew it was important for our kids to grow up with a habit of daily physical activity. Then he simply said – I really enjoy sports, too – played football years ago – I think you enjoy sports, too – saw that photo of the football team in your office. I am worried about our kids and I’d like to ask for your support for legislation that will make sure our kids get enough activity each day through physical education in schools. 

So how can you get connected? Choose a means of contact.

You can start with an email, a phone call, or a meeting (virtual or in person). If your lawmaker is newly elected, you may want to consider congratulating them and then let them know you are a constituent and an advocate for the American Heart Association. Plan to share with them a bit about yourself, what you care about, and why.

Here a few hints for getting connected:

• Email: You can find your state legislator's email addresses on the state legislature's website or your local official's on the website for your county commission, town council, etc.
• Phone Calls: If you want to speak with your lawmaker, you can call their office (these numbers are also normally listed on the websites) and it may be your first stop is with a legislative staff. HINT: Legislative staff are IMPORTANT – sometimes as important as the lawmaker themselves. These staff help inform lawmakers and are the gatekeeper to getting to the lawmaker – so always take the time to get to know them. And when they help you – remember to thank them.
• Meetings (virtual or in-person): These will require setting up a time with your lawmaker, which normally means you will have to put in a request. You can do this by emailing or calling their office. Often times staff will want to know why you want to have the meeting, so let them know you are a constituent and what issues you may want to talk about. Note about virtual meetings – if you do have fact sheets or information to share with your lawmaker for an issue, you may want to send that along in advance of your meeting since you won’t be there in person to hand it to your lawmaker. Or you can plan to use it as part of your follow-up.
• Social Media: If your lawmaker is on social media, consider following them. By monitoring social media, you can get to know their interests and what they are saying. You can comment on posts or tweet your lawmaker.
• When you reach out to your lawmaker, please let your grassroots manager know. They are here to help you and also we want to be sure to capture that you have made this contact. It helps us when future opportunities arise.

Before meeting with your lawmaker, remember your most impactful tool - your story!

When you meet with your lawmaker or their staff, it is helpful to share with them a bit about yourself. In advance of your call or meeting, take time to think about what brings you to the American Heart Association and the issue you plan to speak with them about. Consider:

• Are you a survivor of heart disease or stroke?
• Are you a caregiver of someone?
• Do you have a specific connection to the issue – for example – are you a physician working with patients that have health issues, do you do research?
• Perhaps you live in neighborhood that lacks sidewalks or access to healthy food or maybe you just really care about making sure we all live healthy.

Then, connect that experience to the issue you would like to discuss. Connecting the issue to your own experience will capture the attention of your lawmaker or their staff and help you bring the issue to life. Think of your story as a way to help your lawmaker take a walk in your shoes to see why the issue matters.

When connecting with your lawmaker, use the HEART guide to help your meeting be successful.

H – Hello! Start with a smile and a warm hello. Thank the lawmaker and/or their staff for seeing you.
E – Engage with the lawmaker. Get their attention by connecting as their constituent and share your story.
A – Ask. Make the “ask” – what action do you want from the lawmaker?
R – Respect. Remember to always be respectful.
T – Thanks! Gratitude goes a long way. Thank the lawmaker for meeting with you and let them know you will be following up with them.

Hopefully you can see this isn’t hard at all – you start with getting to know your lawmaker, helping them get to know you, connecting to the issues, and then make the ask (how can the lawmaker help?). Don’t forget to thank them. Consider the connection a launch pad and follow up with your lawmaker or their staff to keep the discussion going.

As part of your advocacy journey, plan to stay in touch with your lawmaker, like you do with others you know. For example, send them an occasional email with an article about an issue they may have interest in, comment or tweet them on their social media, find out their birthday and wish them a happy birthday, and look for other opportunities to stay in touch. Remember your grassroots manager can help you with ideas, so don’t be shy to reach out; we are ready to help you.

Julie Howell and Kim Chidester VanVeen are the AHA Grassroots Managers for the Southeast. Julie serves Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, and Kim serves Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. You can view their full You're the Cure Southeast Fall Training Series here.