Former House Speaker Tip O'Neill's famous quote "All Politics Is Local," is absolutely true! Personal visits from constituents are the most important part of "ABA Day in Washington" and the reason for our success each year. These visits are an opportunity to develop and affirm trusting working personal relationships with your Members of Congress and their staff.
To take advantage of these opportunities, we want to ensure you have help coordinating efforts with colleagues and that you receive just the right amount of information to really drive home why the issues are so crucial to your State, District and fellow constituents.
We have found that the most effective way of doing this is through a strong network of State Captains to organize meetings with your congressional delegation to really maximize your time in Washington, DC. We also encourage ABA Day participants who have close relationships with Members of Congress from other States to contact the State Captain for that other State and/or Ken Goldsmith in the Governmental Affairs Office for coordination assistance.
It is most effective for constituents to request and schedule their own Hill meetings, for which the ABA Governmental Affairs Office will coordinate with the State Captains to ensure they have the information and assistance they need.
GAO staff are available to help State Captains:
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Determine which ABA Day issues would be most effective to address with a particular Member of Congress;
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Coordinate with ABA Day participants from their State to determine which participants are best-suited (based on constituency and/or other relationships) to attend which meetings – this is particularly important in states with large Congressional Delegations;
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Submit the meeting requests (noting expected participants and issues to be addressed) via e-mail to the Members’ schedulers; and
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Prepare “ABA Day Prep Kits” which will include meeting schedule information, ABA Day issue background reports, Member vote/co-sponsorship scorecards, and state/district-specific information. This information will be e-mailed to participants in advance of ABA Day. ABA Day Hill Visit “leave-behind” folders will distributed at the ABA Day registration desk.
State Captains could likely use some help preparing, so please offer as much assistance as you can!
To begin your ABA Day 2012 preparations, please review some of the useful resources linked in the right hand box.
Finally, we hope you will enjoy the Ohio State Bar Association’s own Bill Weisenberg’s “Tip Sheet” for how to make the most out of your ABA Day participation.
For any other comments, questions or concerns, just call or e-mail Ken Goldsmith, Legislative Counsel.
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