Standing up for our values requires being organized and engaging in
the public policy debate. As one of our members puts it, "Public policy
is the set of decisions that we make as a society about how we will
care for one another, our communities and the land." If we want to have
a say in those decisions, we need to be organized. Whether the issue is
funding for schools, a living wage ordinance, the environment, or any
other issue, progressives win when we come together as an organized
advocacy and lobbying force.
How do we get there? In many ways issue-based campaigns are similar to political campaigns. In an electoral campaign, the challenge is to reach out to voters in the most personal way possible. Similarly, winning on issues requires reaching out to elected officials - the more personal the contact, the better. Elected officials can and should be reached in a variety of ways: letters, calls, visits, e-mails, and faxes. Before doing this work, you first need to educate and mobilize a base of supporters, target your audience, develop an effective message, and develop a lobbying strategy.
