Career and Technical EducationTom Seymour, PhD-Professor-Senator

How To Influence Your Legislators

Your Mission StatementACTE :: Association for Career and Technical Education

• Money• Media• Message

Candidate Search

The Candidate Search

• What Kind of Candidates are We Looking For• What Incentives are There For Candidates to

Run for Office• What Procedure Should You Use In Contacting

Potential Candidates• Will You Give Release Time to an Employee to

Run For Office• I am a candidate –Final Decision-Can I Win?

Television Ad

Building A Campaign Organization

• Planning• Fundraising – Xmas list, Employees, etc.• Preparing Campaign Materials – Poll List• Developing and Maintaining a Web site ---------

www.seymour-senate.us• Building Support – letter to the editor• Reaching Voters – invites to meetings and

Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, etc..

1998Campaign Ad

Campaign Elements (Movies From Web site)

• Writing A Campaign Plan• The Kick-off Social At Your Home• Campaign Materials – examples on Web site• Fundraising – Start Early• Building Name Recognition – Your Local Group View

the TV, Radio, and Newspaper Ads• Get Out The Vote Campaigns• Lobbyists – David Crothers• Care and Feeding of Volunteers• Team – Signs, TV, Radio Ads

Campaign Ad With Capitol

Give Your Legislator Support

• Photo in Your Newsletter• Photo in Your Magazine• Photo during Your Company Event• Photo in Your Television Ad• Photo in Your Newspaper Ad• Photo in Your Brochures• Accompany Door to Door• Find Campaign Sign Locations

The Leadership – President Clip …Governor John HoevenLt. GovernorSenate Majority LeaderSenate Minority LeaderPresident Pro TemporeHouse Majority LeaderHouse Minority LeaderHouse Speaker

Senate Assistant LeaderSenate Assistant MinorityHouse Assistant LeaderHouse Assistant MinoritySenate and House StaffGovernor’s Staff

President Pro Tempore

The Legislative Council Jim Smith – Director

Jay E. Buringrud – Assistant Director

John Walstad – Code Revisor

Allen H. Knudson – Legislative Budget

Roxanne Woeste – Legislative Budget

Office of Management and Budget

Budget Projections –Pam Sharp, DirectorTammy Dolan

The Governor’s BudgetJohn Hoeven

Parties

• The State Democratic Party• The State Republican Party• Tea Party• Your Local District Organization• Your Congressional Delegation• The Legislators that You Know• The Lobbyists you Know• Legislative Staff You Know• The Leaders that You Know

Your and Director Contacts

• Friends and Relatives

• Memberships and Boards

• Helped during the campaign

• MSU Board of Regents

Agriculture, Appropriations, EducationFinance and Taxation, Government and Veterans AffHuman Services, IBL, Judiciary, Natural ResourcesPolitical Subdivisions, TransportationConstitutional Revision -- Maybe

2009 Standing Committees

Legislative Session Strategy

• Unlimited Letters to Constituents• Meet with the Party Caucus• Email on a regular Basis• Leave a telephone message at home• Go to committee meetings• Take a legislator photo in committee meeting• Dinner and Lunch • Be in Capitol eating area early in morning• Gift and Personal card to Senate Desk• Letter to the Editor Promoting the Legislator• Legislator has the “VOTE” - Power Among Peers

During the Legislative Session

• Take the Legislator’s Spouse to Dinner• Send the Legislator’s Spouse a gift from Your

Business• Go to The Legislative Session at 6:00am and

visit with the Legislators present• Go to the Hotel Lounge in the Session City

Where Most Legislators Stay and Visit• Compliment Your Legislators on Facebook,

Twitter, etc.

2010 Legislative Review

Historic Legislative SessionUnprecedented and Unparalleled in many

respects1. Landmark funding of priorities2. Healthy reserve for the future3. Broad-based tax relief, reform, and

simplification4. Tax Incentives for Businesses

Historic Legislative Session

2. Healthy reserve for the future Budget Stabilization Fund - $325 million Oil Tax Trust Fund - $52 million Property Tax Relief (2011-13) - $295 million Ending Fund Balance - $30 million Total Reserve - $702 million

Technology and Communication

• E-mail is best way to go – tseymour@nd.gov• Always remember to include your name and

physical address on any correspondence• Your State’s Legislative Web site• At home 10-20 letters per day• Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, etc…

Web sites

• www.seymour-senate.com• http://web.ndak.net/seymour/• Movies• Ads

A Social Media Video

• Created by Jack Dorsey in 2006• Micro-blogging site• Allows users to make posts up to 140

characters long• Comparable to text messaging but online• www.twitter.com -- SenTomSeymour

• Created by 3 former PayPal employees in 2005• Video sharing website• Non-registered users can watch videos using a

search engine will registered users can upload and view videos

• Flip Camera and Droid• www.youtube.com• Search for Senator Tom Seymour

• Developed by a Vancouver-based company in 2006

• Photo/video sharing website• Also allows users to blog• www.flickr.com

• Founded by Reid Hoffman in 2002• Business oriented social networking site• Allows users to have professional connections

and contacts with them • www.Linkedin.com

• Created by Dustin Moskovitz and Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 as a way for their fellow Harvard students to stay in touch.

• Has more than 300 million users• Provided in over 70 languages• More than 8 billion minutes are spent on the

Facebook homepage everyday• www.facebook.com

BLOGS

• Type of website maintained by an individual that creates entries

• Usually can control who sees blogs• http://senator-tom-seymour.blogspot.com/

• A website that allows easy creation and editing of interlinked web pages

• Makes it easy to access a variety of different websites.

You Can Do – What Has Been Said

• Get To Know Your Legislators• Personal Relationships Build Trust• Try To Meet Face to Face• Remember Our States Have A Citizen

Legislature• Make Good Use of Time, Be Brief (Coffee)• Democracy Does Not Work Without Citizen

Involvement

Citizen Legislature

• During non-session, remember that they have other jobs as well

• Legislators Are Not Experts in Every Subject *Speak in layman’s terms* Remember that People like stories - Awards

Team Work Pays Off

2009: Lobbying and Policy Change: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why

• 13, 800 Lobbyists Registered in DC• $ 3.5 billion spent in 2009 on lobbying• 8,000 bills introduced / 400 pass in two years• Earmark• President and Party Leaders – 78%• Former Members of Congress – 63%• Congressional Committees – 60%• Lobbying Expenditures – 52%• Trade Associations – 50%

Resourceswww.srt.com

• OPASTCO• http://www.opastco.org/site/advocacy/us-con

gress/grassroots-lobbying-kit• NTCA – TECO Web site• http://www.ntcateco.org/index.php?option=c

om_content&view=article&id=44• NDATC – Links• http://www.ndatc.com/links.htm• http://www.legis.nd.gov/fiscal/biennium-

reports/61-2009/nd-finance-facts/index.html

Your Challenge – Legislative Support in Three Areas

• Money• Media• Message

• Have Fun !!