This is the first post in CCEDA’s Advocacy 101 series, centered around public policy advocacy on individual and organizational levels. This series will discuss strategies, resources from finding upcoming legislation to contacting your state-level Representative, and more.
Advocacy is more than just “calling your Rep.” It’s sustained effort to shape policy into what you and/or the populations you serve will benefit from. But with the prevalence of social media and current media cycles, we instead are faced with a lot of noise and misinformation. In a system designed to overwhelm and force feelings of helplessness, it is more important than ever to remain focused.
#1 – Public policy is a marathon, not a race.
By the time the urgent action calls come out and the phone lines are busy (or, in some cases, taken off the hook) we are in the final push regarding a Bill. That is the most visible public involvement, but it is not where the bulk of the work happens.
This series centers on California and federal legislature, but can be applied elsewhere. While petition signatures and signing letters of support are important, they are meant to be done as a part of sustained effort.
Which brings us to…
#2 – It’s a dialogue, not a monologue.
Beyond the phone call or email: what do you do? You continue to call, email, write, and… fax.
And, yes, fax: remember that time some House Reps were refusing to answer their phones during the Big Ugly Bill voting? Those moments are where you should utilize faxing.
You utilize their official channels so that your communications go on the record. This doesn’t mean your communication is one-and-done, it means you have opened the dialogue.
Do your homework before you reach out: has your Rep released their position on the legislation you are interested in?
- If they have shown their vote aligns with you, thank them for their position and reiterate they are accurately voting in their constituents’ interests.
- If they have shown their vote is opposite of what you think it should be, request they vote in accordance with what benefits their constituents.
Then you periodically check in and follow up. Every time people go on the record, it’s important. But when people continue to go on record, that’s a sign that interest has not waned on the topic and that all eyes are on your Rep. Social media algorithms and news cycles are focused on overwhelming/doom scrolling, rather than sustained focus on singular topics. When people demonstrate consistent interest, their efforts are visible and can make a difference.
Also, think of if the positions were reversed: would you feel that a topic is more important to your constituents if they were consistently reaching out to you?
#3 – Branching out beyond your Representative.
State and federal policy affect more than just you or your organization, they affect everyone. We know this, but we can utilize it to expand advocacy efforts.
This will require more legwork, but we have some resources and organizations below to cover most of the groundwork.
Learn your voting district and who your neighbors are:
- Finding Reps: House of Representatives & Senators: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member
- Finding Reps: California Assemblyperson & California Senator: https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/
- To see the California district maps (scroll down to see State Assembly, State Senate, or Congressional District maps): https://gis.data.ca.gov/maps/cabaddc34c854421b38b8a9239315d9b/about
*These links may be updated depending on the outcomes of California Prop 50 on 11/4/25.
Next, learn about those neighbors. Google will be a tremendous help, especially when you find out (for example), that your district will be impacted by hospital closures and their district already has no major surgical centers. Many nonprofits such as Rise Economy and California Community Action Partnership Association (CalCAPA) also have resources on this through their own campaigns, position statements, and letters of support.
We all ask, sometimes hopelessly, “what more can I do?” This is that something more that is easily incorporated into your long term strategies—replacing that helplessness with empowerment.
So while you may not be in the neighboring districts in question, there’s no reason for you to not reach out. You can take the “we are neighbors, what affects my district affects yours as well, here’s how and why” approach. Continuing with the earlier example, you can mention how the loss of hospital funding impacts their district even more than yours as it leads to even bigger travel and emergency services issues.
Other Reps that you can reach out to include the House/Senate Minority/Majority Leaders and Committee Chairpersons and members. See future Advocacy 101 posts for more in-depth discussion on these particular strategies.
#4 – Use social media? Utilize social media.
Obviously on-the-record communication is purposeful and impactful. But never underestimate the value of your online presence. Most officials have social media, and of those, most have an official account and a personal (but still public) account. Official accounts are used to discuss business (like policy positions) and personal accounts are where they speak their mind—because their official accounts are also subject to ethical and professional guidelines.
You can use these as tools to get to know the Reps. You can also use these as a tool to let these Reps know who you are with every like, view, comment, and interaction. Which can also be useful if you are in the final push for a policy and you’ve already called/emailed/faxed.
Algorithms favor interactions above all else. Here’s how this works in your favor:
- The more interactions a post has, the more the algorithm pushes the post.
- The creator/account owner sees the interactions.
- The more a post is “pushed” by the algorithm, the more interactions it can get.
This means:
- If you commented on that post, it also has higher visibility (“Did you know that this will decrease access for your constituent’s to receive healthcare?” Is pretty eye catching)
- If the post is relevant to the topic, that boosts visibility of that Rep’s position.
This does mean that everything is subject to the algorithm, censorship/suppression therein, but is still a viable strategy… particularly as a group of individuals acting together! One person can make a difference, multiple can move mountains, and it starts with everyone thinking, “I can do this.”
The current system is designed to wear us down and instill hopelessness. It is our job to not let that strategy succeed and work against it.
Focusing on long-term strategies and consistent effort avoids burnout, allows you to stay current, and can show tangible outcomes.
Follow CCEDA on social media, subscribe to our newsletter, and check our website often for more relevant policy information. The next part in the Advocacy 101 series will be released on all platforms.