By Emily Davis, Southeastern PA Group Secretary/Treasurer
I get lots of on-line petitions in my inbox, and agree with many of them, but staff in the offices of our elected representatives consistently tell us that personal letters always carry the most weight. To make this easy for myself, I have bookmarked the contact part of each representative’s website (US congress member, US senators, PA representative and PA senator, city councilperson).
When you write a letter, it is best to have a specific action (vote yes, vote no, sponsor, co-sponsor) to request of your representative, not just a general opinion with which you want him or her to agree. So, back to those email requests. If the request asks you to ask your representative to take a specific action, take a serious look. The sender is likely to have more information than you do about the issue and that makes it easier for you; you just have to trust the sender. Sierra Club, like a number of other environmental organizations, has staff in Harrisburg and Washington to analyze and track legislation. You can see Sierra Club Pennsylvania’s position on legislation in the state legislature at: https://www.sierraclub.org/pennsylvania/legislation.
As a resident of an electoral district, your voice matters to your representative. Make your voice heard! Also, remember to say thank you when your representative does what you asked. Now, please read an article on America’s Red Rock Wilderness about an action I’d like you to ask your representative to take.