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Grass Roots Strategies

 

Each January the Arizona State Legislature reconvenes to determine the laws of the state. Their job is to determine what, if any, government regulation should occur regarding any number of issues. The committees of the Legislature provide a glimpse of the particular concerns brought to  their attention.

The House of Representatives committees include Appropriations; Commerce; Education; Environment; Federal Mandates and Property Rights; Financial Institutions and Insurance; Government Reform and Government Finance Accountability; Health; Human Services; Judiciary, Counties, Municipalities, and Military Affairs; Natural Resources; Public Institutions and Retirement; Rules; Transportation; Universities, Community Colleges and Technology; Ways and Means.

The Senate Committees include Appropriations; Commerce; Commerce and Economic Development; Education; Family Services; Finance; Government; Government Accountability and Reform; Higher Education; Judiciary; Natural Resources and Rural Affairs; Natural Resources and Transportation; Rules; Transportation.

The Chairs of these committees are listed on the Cactus and Pine GCSA website.
Bills introduced in the House often have a similar Senate version in a committee with similar objectives.

Not all action is tied to the Legislature in Arizona. Our association will monitor both the Congressional bills being introduced and debated on the national level and we will monitor the regulatory issues being discussed at various state departments such as ADWR.

As we look forward we know Cactus and Pine GCSA has been successful in building important relationships with some of the legislators and in keeping allied association’s informed of important issues. We rely on the Golf Industry Association and their lobbyist, Bob Fannin, to advocate for and defend golf. But, next year could be a “watershed” year because of the heightened concern about the drought and water used on golf courses. It is critical to us to be prepared and ready to take an active role in educating and advocating for what we believe is best for good agronomic practices.

How do we do this? We will continue to be a member of GIA and provide facts to the lobbyist. Lobbying is simply a matter of giving factual information to a legislator who will be voting on an issue. Another helpful method is to use Grass Roots advocacy. Grass Roots advocacy means that the Cactus and Pine GCSA members become lobbyists by contacting  their individual representatives.

There are two kinds of Grass Roots strategies ~ Message-based and Relationship-based grass roots work.

 

Message-based Grass Roots Strategies  Phone banks, broadcast fax or email, direct mail, petitions, etc.

Relationship-based Grass Roots Strategies Real people from key districts meeting with important lawmakers, e.g. Lobby Days, and interactive train

More Detailed Message 

Message-based grass roots campaigns rely on a single-line message endlessly repeated; this can quickly seem contrived and simplistic. At the Legislature, where amendments and compromises are certain to alter a piece of legislation, a mass grassroots campaign can quickly become irrelevant.

Relationship-based grass roots advocacy emphasizes face-to-face communication between real constituents and lawmakers. Relationship-based grass roots allows messages to be tailored to specific legislators This also allows messages to be continuously updated in reaction to political events. Your message always remains fresh and pertinent, and never gets outdated.

Information Exchange

Message based grass roots campaigns do not automatically provide a feedback loop. It is hard to assess the impact of a mass campaign on a particular issue or legislative office.

Because face-to-face communication is the core activity of relationship-based grass roots advocacy, participants gather information from legislators as well as deliver it. Advocates and legislative offices can build relationships, establish intelligence links with the Legislature, and provide the opportunity to work toward a consensus on controversial issues.

Cost Effectiveness

Message based grass roots campaigns are often prohibitively expensive. Postage alone for direct mail can quickly cost thousands of dollars. And while it may be cheap to send email messages to the Legislature, designing and updating a web site on the Internet can be expensive.

Relationship-based grass roots advocacy can be extremely targeted, focusing only on those districts that make a difference. That means that political associations can maximize their lobbying dollars to attain the specific results they need. This type of advocacy can create a smaller, more powerful, more accountable, and easier-to-mobilize advocacy network to serve your issues.

 Future Mobilization

Message based grass roots campaigns are cumbersome to mobilize and can generally only send one simple message to the Legislature. Such campaigns cannot respond to changing political conditions or opportunities.

It takes many votes to pass a piece of legislation. Relationship-based grass roots advocacy can keep advocates informed and active throughout the entire legislative process. Where mass campaigns attempt to provide a single “hit” during the legislative process, relationship-based grass roots advocacy can help build an ongoing movement.

Better Use of Technology

Message based grass roots campaigns see technology as a way to quickly generate a huge response to a piece of legislation. Unfortunately, these expensive campaigns seem contrived in legislative offices and are physically burdensome for staff.

Relationship-based grass roots advocacy recognizes that new communications technology is powerful and exciting but will never replace the best asset of a political association – real people.  The Internet can be a wonderful resource for political associations if it is used to access information, improve communication, and otherwise compliment an existing relationship-based grass roots campaign.

The above graph simply stated means “You are the advocate for your interests.”

The Cactus and Pine GCSA will follow the legislative bills being introduced and we will alert you to issues that may affect your ability to do your job, but the most important action you can take is to get to know your legislators. Some important questions to ask:

1. What is likely to happen to the issues you care about under the current lawmaker?
2. If the outlook for your issues is grim, how can you stop another agenda from advancing – or at last blunt its impact?
3. If your issues’ prospects are strong, what’s the best way to take advantage of that situation?
4. What are the new lawmaker’s/regulator’s backgrounds – where did they grow up and go to school, what have they done for a living, what recreational activities are they involved in (do they play golf)?

Make timely contact.

Send a letter or make a phone call to the legislator’s office to say you are a constituent and are available to offer sound information about golf course management. Sometimes the start of a new legislative session is busy and these individuals are bombarded with information and requests. Re-contact again in 2-3 weeks. You will be walking a line between being persistent and a pest, but asking for just 5 minutes is enough. Be ready to state a few salient points showing your specific issues. For the coming year we expect the center-stage issue to be water.

Gather support data for your issues.

Gather the facts and figures to support your issues. Cactus and Pine GCSA and the GIA websites will be making timely updates to their sites to keep you informed. A coalition of colleagues allows us to be heard, therefore we will be working closely with the GIA, the Southwest Section PGA, the Greater Southwest Chapter of CMAA  to coordinate our message. The University of Arizona and ASU will assist in providing the research data needed to support our positions.

Be consistent.

The Cactus and Pine GCSA will be providing talking points for you as we monitor the various pieces of legislation or regulations. Please keep checking the websites and your emails for updates. Our success will come down to three things: relationships, relationships, relationships.

Advice from the experts.

ü           Even if you are strongly aligned with one party, develop friendly relations with the other side.

ü           Don’t overlook the importance of good relations with the support staff of the legislator or regulator.

ü           Remember that change is the order of the day every day – not just on election day.

ü           Don’t forget to show your appreciation to people who have helped you, even if they are not coming back next session.

 

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