Blogocentric Formulations

Contact Your Representative

Prompt #38: Have you ever written or called one of your government representatives? If so, who was it and what did you say? If not, what issue or concern would make you reach out to them?

For the past ten-plus years, I've lived in a very purple district of Orange County, California, which has had both Republican and Democratic representation in Congress over the past several elections. In some ways, that's really stressful because every election is very close and very stressful. But in other ways, it's genuinely nice to be in a part of the country where our elected representatives have to stand on their own because it's not a given that the Republican or Democratic candidate will automatically win, and the primaries are therefore an exercise in moderation, not trying to pander to one party's base or another.

I tend to pay relatively close attention to what my representatives do while they're in office. I don't obsessively follow their entire voting record and schedule or anything, but I subscribe to their campaign mailing lists and office newsletters, I look for news items where my representative is listed, I check their official social channels and website for policy positions and formal statements about their stance on certain issues, etc.

For the past few election cycles, I've been relieved to have an elected official that aligns relatively closely with own values and policy positions. Not perfectly, of course, but I've had to be less concerned with how they're going to vote than in previous years when I've had a representative that I fundamentally disagreed on most issues.

When I agree with my representative, I tend to not feel the need to call or write just to voice my support for the same thing they already support. When I disagree with my representative, that's when I call or write, to let them know that not everyone in their district agrees with the votes they've taken, the positions they have, or even the issues that they personally find important.

Living in a relatively affluent area of Orange County, we get a lot of elected representatives that are pressured by affluent residents or special interests for unusually specific and (in my opinion, frivolous) issues. Things like the "air traffic noise" from the local airport flight paths over the million dollar homes on the coast. Or trying to restrict the public from beach access in certain places. Or finding additional loopholes to reduce taxes for those who are wealthy enough to take advantage of it.

And I accept that there's a certain amount of that nonsense that our representatives have to put up with (rich people are still also their constituents after all), but I tend to get frustrated when it feels like my representatives are spending all their time focusing on that stuff over working for the less-affluent constituents who live a little farther away from the beach. So that's when I'll tend to write to my representatives as well, as a reminder that not everyone in their district has a multimillion-dollar beach house or owns a successful business. Some of us are just regular families trying to get by and care less about stopping homeless people from sleeping on the beach than we do about affordable groceries or access to a quality public school option.

At the end of the day, I view civic engagement as a responsibility that we all have as residents of a particular area, and while that includes voting at the very least (for those who are eligible to do so), it also includes making sure that the person you send to the legislature — or the county board of supervisors, or the municipal water district, or whatever it is that you're passionate about — actually represents your interests while they're there. There's no point in voting if it's not an informed decision, and there are few better things to inform your decision than what the incumbent has already done in office with their time there.

Which, ideally, should reflect the values of the people they represent. Which they have no way of knowing if you never reach out and tell them what you think. So don't be shy about contacting your representatives if you have something to say!