LVT Meetings with Elected Officials: Best Practices

Joshua Vincent, CSE ED

Elected officials are, if you like, the "Jackpot." They are the ones who have the power to get the Georgist proposal across the finish line. Whatever success you see manifests itself in public policy.

If any Georgist wants to make a difference, you must start at the beginning of a process you have identified as doable, legal, and realistic.

Start with an email or a letter, followed by a phone call.

Make your request in writing and follow up with a call to the office scheduler. Waiting for about four business days is my practice.

Let them know what issue and legislation (by bill number, if it has one) you wish to discuss. Please notice the words "issue" and "legislation." Sometimes, the legislator knows Henry George, but you can't count on it. You may have a brief first meeting if you start and end with the law of rent. We don't show up to give a lecture but to exchange thoughts and ideas to help the legislator’s community improve.

Suggest a time and date and let them offer an alternative. The scheduler works for an elected official; therefore, they work for you. Be polite, but do not be put off.

Make sure they know that you are a constituent or represent an organization/interest directly relevant to an issue that the official would be concerned about.

Prepare for Your Meeting

Call an experienced Georgist or organization for materials. We should have information to help you decide on your talking points and articles/reports that you can leave with your elected official. Fresh fish tastes best. An interesting article from 1902 is not going to cut it.

Decide well in advance who will attend the meeting. Bringing more than four or five people is too hard to manage. Keep it small but bring people who represent perspectives with a knowledge or interest in the legislation or the discussion. Hypothetically, the meeting would have an academic, a businessperson, a community, or a civic representative (homeowners’ group, civic association, etc.).

Agree beforehand on talking points. It's tough to make a strong case for your position when your team spars with each other during the meeting! If a topic is causing tension in the group, leave it out before the meeting starts.

Plan out your meeting. People can get nervous in a forum, and time is limited. Be sure to plan the team's comportment, including who will start the conversation. Make it clear to your colleagues that one person will be the master of ceremonies, but no one can dominate the conversation. From experience, if one of your group acts as an "individual" they should be excluded from future meetings. You won't regret the ruffled feathers. Legislators can be very sensitive to bloviating and not in the right way!

Decide what you want to achieve.

What do you want your elected official to do - vote for or against the bill? Commitment to introduce or co-sponsor legislation? Asking your legislator or a staff member to do something specific will help you gauge how successful your visit was. In most jurisdictions, no one knows if LVT is legally permissible. Don't assume! Sometimes, an LVT advocate's best friend is an attorney or staffer in the legislative research bureau.

During the meeting

Be prompt and patient. Bring a pen, a memo pad, and business cards if you have one. Elected officials run on very tight schedules. Be sure to show up on time for your appointment and be patient - it is not uncommon for legislators to be late or to have your meeting interrupted by other business. Don't get hurt if they take a phone call or one of the aides interrupts. The aide is probably the person you will be in contact with in the future; don't condescend, ever.

Keep it short and focused! You will have twenty minutes or less with a staff person and as little as ten minutes if you meet with your elected official. Make the most of that brief time by sticking to your topic and specifics.

Remember that if your meeting lasts half an hour or more, you've got them at least partially hooked. If the legislator or the aide calls someone else to the meeting, that's a terrific outcome.

Bring up any personal, professional, or political connections to the elected official that you may have. Start the meeting by introducing yourself, then let your colleagues do the same.

Thank the legislator for past votes in support of your issue. Thank them for taking the time to meet with you.

Stick to your talking points! Stay on topic, and back them up with five items of materials you can leave with your elected official. Conversely, if the prospect wants to talk about the 1962 Mets, by all means, smile and chime in (bemoaning Marvelous Marv Throneberry usually helps!).

Provide personal and local examples of the likely impact of the legislation. Stressing the relevance of these examples is the most important thing you can do on a visit. Because you've done your research, reference a community or issue in the legislator's district to get their attention.

Wash, rinse, and repeat.