Bob O'Hara felt like most Americans watching the political system in 2011. Living in the Boston area, with no political experience, he was frustrated at the level of discord, but also wondering what he could do about it. When the bipartisan group NoLabels was founded to address the problems of gridlock in government, he wanted to get involved. But again, like many Americans, he didn't know much about grassroots advocacy. He came to a NoLabels conference in Washington, D.C. later that year. The conference had many expert speakers on policy, what was causing gridlock, how many in Congress were equally if not more frustrated. But what I recently learned is that one presentation stuck in his head...mine.
The Congressional Management Foundation in 2011 had released our latest report on communicating with Congress, "Perceptions of Citizen Advocacy on Capitol Hill." The report included a survey of senior congressional staff and showed that 97 percent felt that an "in-person visit by a constituent" would have some or a lot of influence on an undecided lawmaker. At the conference, I offered the data in a 10-minute presentation, along with ways citizens could enhance their voices through better advocacy.
Bob was skeptical. "This isn't the way Congress is portrayed in the media," he thought. But later in the day two congressional Chiefs of Staff on a panel confirmed CMF's findings: Yes, constituents were central to how Members of Congress made public policy decisions. Armed with a new-found purpose he set out to enhance his skills as a citizen-advocate and see if what CMF proposed would really work in the real world.
He called up the district office for his congressman and asked for a meeting with the district director. He was stunned that he got an instant "yes," and eventually had a 45-minute meeting with the legislator's senior staff in the district! In the last few years he's had many meetings in Massachusetts and Washington with delegation members and other NoLabels supporters. Each time the process is easy – call the office, set up a time, show up and make your pitch.
During the course of this journey, Bob has seen the power of dialogue on difficult questions on a local level, and now serves on the board of directors for Essential Partners, a nonprofit that equips leaders and communities to speak and listen to each other across our deepest divisions. Bob has also become his own one-man-show in preaching the value of in-district meetings with legislators. "I couldn't believe how easy it was to get meetings," he said. (A CMF survey of House Chiefs of Staff showed that 71 percent felt their Member had "no preference" on whether he/she met with constituents in the district or D.C.) He continues to face skepticism from his friends, but now he's got both data and experience on his side.
Watch Bob giving a presentation on what it takes to be a great citizen advocate here.
