Advocating for any cause can seem, at first, like a mystery. One of the first questions to answer is who exactly should I be advocating to? There are numerous levels of government from which we as history organizations should be seeking
support. You probably already have established ties with your local government, be it a mayor, a selectboard or other such governing bodies. If not, prepare your case for support, and schedule a face-to-face meeting to ensure that your local officials understand the value your organization brings to the community.
Our state government features two distinct sets of legislators to whom we should be directly advocating regarding local causes: the State Senate and the House of Representatives. And since districts do not necessarily run along town borders for either body, it is possible that you may have more than one Senator and more than one Representative if you live in a large community. To confound this issue,
these bodies intermittently go through redistricting to align themselves with current population totals. Your State Senator today may not be your Senator tomorrow. And then there are those November elections that can shake things up as well.
So, how do we keep track of all of this information? Try this simple tip. The state provides a “Find My Legislator” page on malegislature.gov. At the top of the map there is an “Enter a location” search box. Drop in a zip code or start typing the name of a community and options will appear. Click on your choice
and a bubble will appear above your town with the name of a Senator and a Representative. Each one is clickable and will lead you to each member’s official page. Another tip? If you don’t follow the November elections closely, put a reminder in your online calendarto run the search in mid-November to make sure you are always up to date.
Happy advocating!
John Galluzzo, MHA Advocacy Committee