Modus Operandi: Part the Second

Before you sit down with an elected official you should think through a few things.

First: What do you want. No, really. What EXACTLY do you want. Be REALLY specific. Be as specific as you were in 3rd grade when answering the question "What do you want for your birthday?" If you want a Dancerella with a purple dress, not a pink dress, you best say as much.

Second: Remember: the list of things you wanted for your birthday may have been longer than what you actually received. I've said it before, but it bears repeating: the most effective meetings with elected officials only include one or two issues/requests (Maybe three. Maybe. But one and two better be related.) Beyond that, and you sound like....well....like a 3rd grader shouting out her birthday wish list.

Third: Think about your leave-behind materials and follow-up. These two can make or break your request. Some elected officials will not read anything you hand them, some will want a one page summary of your request, some will want to see a map, even if what you're asking for has nothing to do with geography, it totally depends. This is one reason to pay a Political Consultant. They will know exactly what to bring to the party.

Unflappable

Governor Deval Patrick came to downtown Holyoke last week for a town-hall style meeting. About 200 people attended. It was a beautiful summer night along the canal and once again, we were reminded of Heritage State Park's special beauty.  Heritage State Park is the former site of the Skinner Silk Mill.  It is now home to the Children's Museum, the US Volleyball Hall of Fame, the Merry-go-round, the Park Visitor Center, as well as the first unofficial section of the Canalwalk.

The Governor brought many of his cabinet members to the meeting, including his Secretaries of Health and Human Services, and Workforce Development (both are women!)  He was briefly introduced by our State Representative and our Mayor (it was SO NICE not to have to sit through a million introductions and political hangers-on!)

I was, once again, completely impressed with Governor Patrick. For most of the meeting, he took unscripted questions from audience members.  With each questioner, he had the presence of mind to greet them by name, look them in the eye, and thank them for their question. He was never personally offended by tough questions, never less than completely gracious and was always welcoming of people's comments.  In a word: unflappable. He stayed (mostly) on topic and didn't brag ad nauseam about his administration's accomplishments.

People have different personal styles, and often their interactions with elected officials reflect their intrinsic personality.   I've seen constituents yell at a Member of Congress, and I've seen them cry.  I've seen constituents remain highly defensive and closed-mouthed, and I've seen  some reveal WAY too much.

Regardless of your personal style, I ALWAYS advise my clients to act.....well, pretty much like Governor Patrick did at this meeting.  I advise this because 95% of the time, it is the most politically effective modus operandi.  Don't believe me?  Ask a Congressional Staffer.

THE ART OF POLITICS MODUS OPERANDI, PART THE FIRST

1. If you don't know the answer to a question, SAY YOU DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER and OFFER TO FOLLOW-UP WITH STAFF AFTER THE MEETING.  Most elected officials have a HIGHLY sensitive bullshit detector.  If you set off their bullshit detector, you aren't doing your organization any favors.

2. If you know the answer to a question, answer the question simply and directly.  Do not go on ad nauseam.

3. Do your homework.  If you want to talk about playgrounds in your community, know absolutely everything about playgrounds in your community, or find someone who does and bring them to the meeting.  Your goal is to be considered an expert on your topic because attaining this goal makes you a GO TO organization every time your issue comes up.  Being 'go to' is good.

More to come!  I'd love to hear your thoughts or stories about meetings with elected officials.

The Upside of Pork, Besides its Tasty Flavor, Part II

Besides it's tasty flavor? The upside of an appropriation (pork) exists almost entirely for its recipient and, if it is a good appropriation, the recipient's community. We've talked about how Congress funds federal agencies, now let's talk a little bit about how the appropriation process works.

If you need a refresher, visit Part I, we'll wait. Okay. All set?

Each Federal agency has funding programs. Some agencies have a lot, and some have just a few. The Department of Agriculture, for example, has 205 different funding programs, while the Department of the Treasury only has 6. Every fiscal year, Congress gives money to these funding programs. Here's one example:

The Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration has a pot of money that goes to support Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) all over the country. WIBs spend this money retraining folks whose jobs have moved overseas, or who are looking to make a job transition. You probably have a WIB in your area. Some of the funds for WIBs are discretionary, and come are competitive, meaning, some money is distributed by a formula (discretionary) and some money is distributed via an application and award process (competitive.) If you want the gory details, click here.

Among these hundreds, maybe thousands, of funding programs, there are a few accounts (really, there are only a few) where a Member can make an appropriation. What is an appropriation? An appropriation is where a Member of Congress funds an account but takes a little money off the top, directing it to a specific project, usually in their district. The Member of Congress or Senator tells the agency: You are getting $X million for this Urban Parks account. But I'm going to need you to spend $100,000 of that $X million building swing sets for the kids in my district.

Now, if you live in that district, you will be happy to see local kids playing on local swing sets. If you don't live in that district, you might be angry that the process of distributing funds wasn't more fair. However you feel about appropriations, I hope this blog helps you know more about how the process actually works. Questions? Comments? Thoughts? We'd love to hear from you!

artofpolitics at mac dot com

The Upside of Pork, Besides the Tasty Flavor, Part I

What if you went down to your local Social Security Office and it was closed? To keep every federal agency door open, Congress must fund every single agency program, staff person, Internet connection, and stapler. This process is called the APPROPRIATIONS process. On the federal level, this process is run by the APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE. There are ten House Appropriation Subcommittees and twelve Senate Appropriation Subcommittees (don't worry, the difference is all worked out in Conference.....but more on that later.) Each Appropriation Subcommittee funds multiple agencies.

Here is an EXTREMELY simplified version of how our government funds itself:

Subcommittees in both the House and the Senate receive the President's proposed budget. They hear testimony from agency representatives (Presidential appointees, all) who talk about how great the President's budget is (they're no dummies.) The Subcommittee also hears testimony from folks who oppose the President's budget (they've got paychecks of their own to worry about.)

The Subcommittee makes changes to the President's budget, and then tells the federal agencies, "Okay. Here's the deal, we've decided that your agency will get $X billion dollars for the next fiscal year. Of that total $X billion, you're going to get $Y million for Program A and $Y million for Program B and...."

The Subcommittee's decisions are then sent to the entire Appropriations Committee, and it nods it's head wisely and says, "That works for us, let's see what the rest of the folks say." Then the Appropriations Committee sends the bill to the entire House of Representatives, and the Committee of the Whole (all the members of the House of Representatives) votes on the bill.

You think we're done, don't you? Not so fast. Remember: the process described above happens in both the House and the Senate. As a result, there are, at this point in the process, two versions of the same bill. Yes. Two versions of the same bill. What happens next is called 'Conference.'

Here's how Conference works: the most special three or four House Appropriations Subcommittee members and the three or four most special Senate Appropriations Subcommittee members get together in a room in the Capitol building (located in between the House Office Buildings and Senate Office Buildings) and compare their versions of the same bill. They go through each account, line by line, and say things like, "Excuse me, Senator Ed, but I really like that Parks program, because it builds swing sets for kids, so, can we give them $20 million instead of $10 million?" And on and on. The Conference Committee process takes place behind closed doors, and the decisions are essentially final, unless there is a Presidential veto.

Okay. That's how Congress funds itself. Next time, we'll talk about how Congress funds specific projects for their own districts. If you just can't wait to learn more, give us a call!

Do You Give Good Meeting?

Does your organization get the most out of its meetings and interactions with elected officials? We here at the Art of Politics have sat through MANY, MANY, MANY, MANY meetings with elected officials, on both sides of the table. Why?  Because we LOVE sitting at the table with elected officials and their staff.  Seriously.  We love it.  We are giddy after a well-planned, well-executed meeting.

You should ask yourself: Does my company/organization give good meeting?  Your request for an appointment will get extra attention if your answer is 'yes', meaning the impact of giving good meeting is exponential.

TOP THREE RULES FOR GIVING GOOD MEETING

1. Don't just make an appointment to make an appointment. The elected official has about 20 requests for one hour of their time. Make the appointment worth their while and yours by crafting the content of your meeting around at least one specific goal/request .  You should make your goal attainable, specific and compelling.

2. Don't make a shopping list!  Givers of good meeting only make one or two requests at most.  It is very tempting to shower an elected official with all kinds of requests, but those who get the most out of a meeting are laser focused on one or two specific, tangible, understandable outcomes. 

3. Lay the groundwork.  If your request is technical or complicated, or you've never met with this particular elected official before, have a 'pre-meet' with staff to explain your request.  If the staff person can't explain what you want in 30 seconds to their employer prior to your meeting with the elected official, you don't give good meeting.

Want to see '4' through '20'?   E-mail us at: artofpolitics at mac dot com

Tip o' the Hat to Tip

Like a lot of people, I listened to Senator Obama's recent speech from Philadelphia in its entirety. Now. I'm not going to get into who I support for President, or who you should support, but I need to tell you: I have never heard someone in such a high political office get it so totally and completely right. How did he get it right? By telling his truth.

I recommend telling your truth. Tipp O'Neill famously said that all politics is local. This is true.
Know what else is true? YOU and YOUR LIFE AND WORK are the best example of local. In this way, someone's personal truth is the ultimate example of how all politics is local. The best pitches to elected officials include a lot of local truth.

Why You Should Care About Election Cycles

Let's say you're a non-profit organization.  Or maybe you're a downtown business association.  Or maybe you're an economic developer.   No matter the category of community engagement, you and your colleagues work your behinds off to make your town/city/region a better place. So, why should you spend ANY time figuring out whether the Mayor's term is two years or four years?

Politicians make decisions for a lot of reasons.  But always in their mind?  The election cycle.  Where a politician sits in relation to the election cycle matters because in our system, politicians are either planning to get re-elected or considering retirement.   And getting re-elected is very hard work.   If they plan to run again, elected officials are looking to make connections, work those connections, and bring home the bacon, while working within a government system that largely controls what they are able to accomplish.  

Someone who is retiring has a completely different mind-set, one in which their next job, or their legacy are top-of-mind.   If they plan to retire or move on, elected officials are looking to make connections, work those connections, and bring home the bacon while exiting a system that used to control what they are able to accomplish.

See the difference?  Want to learn more?  Give The Art of Politics a shout.  We'd be more than happy to speak to you.