Personal Political Power

Want to know why any elected official takes any action?
Look at the Politician's Hierarchy of Needs (TM).
If you ask "why" about anything elected officials do, look first at where they are on the "Politician's Hierarchy of Needs (TM)"

Going up in order of need
Get Elected
Stay Elected
Get Power
Keep Power
Increase Power

These needs drive political decisions; the answer to any "why" depends on where the individual politician is on this scale. Any decision is aimed at moving up the illustrated scale to achieve political self-actualization.

Why do politicians take money?
Could be step 1 or 2 or maybe 3, 4 or 5 (help others get elected)

Why support or oppose legislation?
Likely 3, 4 or 5 (curry favor with leadership; occasionally because it's the right thing to do)

I met Louise Slaughter when I was working with arts groups lobbying for more federal support. She was direct and powerful and will be missed.

Rep Louise Slaughter Champion For Arts This video is designed to recruit, motivate and activate arts advocates. It demonstrates the power of certain messages delivered by specific types of messeng...

Get your "free" grass roots lobbying manual - updated after the election for 2019 - in December when you buy now...

Book How To Lobby As A Volunteer For Your Association Get A Free Book - See Below Specific tips in this book help you increase your impact on elected officials by building a relationship (easy), crafting a messa...

After a newspaper article about a class I’m teaching, I was contacted by an irate and agitated citizen activist. He was angry at Assemblymember Marc Levine (District 10 Marin/Sonoma). Seems this man has been writing letters and sending emails, lots of them, to Levine, and never gets reply.

Since the topic of my class at College of Marin is Personal Political Power - How to take action and make a difference, I’m always interested in citizens communicating with politicians. A main theme I emphasize is that elected officials focus on keeping people happy and offending as few as possible. This is especially true for their own voters.

I’ve interviewed hundreds of elected officials, lobbyists, volunteer advocates, academic researches and political operatives and staff. They all confirm that messages from constituents are the most powerful impact on politicians.

So I was interested in talking with a man who sends lots of messages and gets no response.

Here are excerpts from our conversation, which I recorded with his permission, and my thoughts:

He said, “I have written over 200 communications to a man named (Marc) Levine who is an assemblyman for this area (Mill Valley) to the California legislature,”

OK, first red flag for people who want to persuade elected officials. You can easily be a pest by writing about everything under sun and especially things for which you have no particular knowledge or experience. The unkind description is “gadfly” (an annoying person, especially one who provokes others into action by criticism).

Then he said, “The question I asked him was, have you ever been in the armed forces of the United States? That, I have continued for over 200 requests,,, he (Levine) promotes the fact that he is a graduate of the postgraduate naval school in Monterey.”

FACT CHECK: Assemblymember Marc Levine states on his official web site “Levine earned his Master's Degree in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.” He says nothing about military service and that school does accept civilians.

Back to irate writer: “When that is shown to most people they believe and make the assumption that he (Levine) was in the armed forces of the United States.

“Therefore, I think he is a phony.

“When you are promoting your history to accomplish an objective, then you should have the guts to answer a question about it.”

OK, listing a master’s from the Naval Postgraduate school might cause some to infer Levine was in the Navy. But this is unlikely since, had he been, he would have stated that with large type and pictures.

My professional goal has been for many years to get people to communicate with elected officials. But I also teach them how to be effective and this story is an example of wasted time. Wasted for the writer and wasted for the assemblymember staff who have to glance at the emails before deleting them.

What’s going on here is something all elected officials have to deal with. A person who writes not to get response but to vent and pursue a personal vendetta. He feels good about sending questions when he knows the answer. He’s trying to engage his assemblymember in a tar baby discussion that would never end.

I don’t blame Marc Levine for ignoring the emails. I suggest to all who write elected officials that if you have something substantive to say, make a reasonable request and make sure the message was delivered to a person you can vote for, you will almost certainly get an answer.

If all you want to do is rant, use Twitter.


# # #

Joel Blackwell

Not sure when this issue will hit critical mass, but as the population shifts more and more to where the jobs, amenities and climate are, more and more states will have one rep and two sens. Now there are seven. Five states have two reps and two sens.

Thus 24 senators answer to very few voters.

You don't have to be a mathmatician to see the unfairness in representation created by the two-senators and one-rep minimum for each state The Constitution requires.

Low population states tend to be rural and conservative. This is why the census is important and why some are trying to create an inaccurate and low count for the big states by "gerrymandering" the census.

Changing this will be almost impossible since you would have to overcome the obvious objections from the small states.

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One simple, easy and productive thing advocates can do is thank their legislator for supporting their cause. I recently went to observe some Indivisible members as they thanked U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman. It was fun and energized the 20-odd people who showed up on a week day.
As an additional benefit - something you can stimulate and plan for - the group and their issue got video and print coverage.
If you want to amplify your voice this way, and it's a big payoff, plan your message and prepare your spokesperson to make the points you want to emphasize. Invite media coverage and think about how you can use it leading up to and after the event.

Indivisible Marin opposes tax bill Indivisible Marin opposes tax bill (Keri Brenner - Marin Independent Journal)

Got final confirmatin of my class at College of Marin:
Your Winter Quarter class(es):
NEW | Personal Political Power How you can influence Congress & California Assembly
Joel Blackwell has worked in 47 states and Washington DC helping ordinary people learn how to lobby elected officials and get results. You will understand the role of special interest groups, media, money and constituents and how each influences public policy. Joel conducted focus groups in nine states to explore the reasons most people never contact elected officials. This course will address the 11 major obstacles that prevent people from having an impact on public police. You will learn specific techniques that will allow you to make a difference by communicating with elected officials especially by working within special interest groups, 501(c)(3)s and also working independently if that’s your choice.
Joel is the author of “Keep On Voting After The Election” the guide to help ordinary people influence public policy.
3112 | Blackwell | KTD | FH 120
7 Thursdays 6:10-7:30pm | Feb 8-Mar 22
$109 (MF $20) minimum 11

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