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Strategy
- 1. Strategies for Legislative Success Saturday, January 17th, 2015
Editor's Notes
- Thank you to the Libertas Institute for inviting me here today to speak with you about the importance of strategy for the citizen lobbyist.
- strategy [strat-i-jee] noun, plural strategies. 1. the science or art of combining and employing the means of war in planning and directing large military movements and operations. 2. the use or an instance of using this science or art. 3. skillful use of a stratagem: The salesperson's strategy was to seem always to agree with the customer. 4. a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result: a strategy for getting ahead in the world.
- If ever there was an idea that required the use of careful planning, cannabis extracts in Utah had to be it.
- In August of 2013, Jennifer May called me and asked that terrifying question. Of course, I knew nothing about it. But what I did know that cannabis was taboo, it was the genus of marijuana and it was federally banned. So off to research I went. I spent a week combing through medical journals and federal publications and then I called Jennifer back. We began working through our possibilities, and ONLY one was do-able: setting up residence in Colorado. We began to work on those plans. There was just NO WAY that we could even think about saying Medical Marijuana in Utah and be taken seriously. But, CNN intervened. A few days later, Jennifer called again and said: ‘You better make your choice now, the Gupta documentary is airing in three days.’
- I had to make a choice, place the Epilepsy Association in what could be the middle of storm of controversy or ignore it a let it develop first. I approached the Board, I presented the research, I asked for their opinions, we discussed it and voted to support ‘alternative therapies’. This was our first strategic move. If you don’t have that support, you need to build your own support team. KNOW your limits, get help, and manage YOUR expectations. For us getting the help was easier said than done. Although, we received some help in the form of Libertas President; Connor Boyack. After the CNN documentary, Connor called and asked if there was anyone in Utah would wanted to try this treatment.
- There was a choice here, a big one. I knew that there were people that wanted this, people that had a fire, and a passion but I kept my head about me and thought one thing and one thing only: Who could help the cause without forwarding their OWN personal agenda? Who is a team player? There was only one choice: I fed him Jennifer May.
- That interview started a week worth of other interviews and attention that we had to be careful with. While we wanted to scream at the rooftops, we had to pull back and not gather too much potentially damaging attention. We were talking about something everyone knew about, and everyone had an opinion about and NONE of it was to give it to kids. How do we sell this idea to let us give cannabis to really sick children? Still, the media wanted this story, Utah wanted this story, some to mock and some to carry the banner. WE HAD to do our best to control the headlines.
- Our Mantra was formed early on.
- I heard of the Elephant Club Summer Social and I secured three seats. Earlier in my career as President of the EAU, I had the occasion to meet a few well-thought-of former legislators. I did not harangue them about what they didn’t do when we met, I was polite, non-personal, non-confrontational, but professional. You NEVER know when your knee jerk reaction will cost you. You may get the upper hand at the moment but it will always be something that is remembered. Be polite, and present yourself as a professional. Plan to succeed, and in all interactions, see the goal, not the win, the goal. So, we were able to sit at their table. Once others heard what we were discussing, it wasn’t long before our table filled up with some very interesting names, all of which encouraged us forward with a bill. Something we had not thought seriously about until that very moment. Later, the husband, Jennifer and I sat dumbfounded looking at each other and laughing: are we really talking about asking Utah to let us use a product that the DEA calls marijuana? Yep.
- Craft the image. We honed our message after doing more research. We did NOT know at the time that the product we wanted to try would qualify as anything other than marijuana but we did decide to only use proper terminology. Which seriously upset the medical marijuana and recreational marijuana supporters and we began to delve into the chemical structure. To further legitimize the effort we created a separate organization, complete with logo, leadership team, graphic design, and social media presence. We began to create talking points which changed many times as we encountered resistance. People who claimed to be citizen lobbyists told us that the talking points were useless. This could not have been farther from the truth. We ALL had to be on the same page. We ALL had to agree not to use the traditional slang associated with the MMJ and Recreational industries. This pig had to be truthful but had to be absolutely and unequivocally clear: this could be called many things but marijuana was not one of them. We weren’t talking about blowing smoke in our children’s faces. And really, some thought we were. Our message had to be clear, VERY.WE held public information meetings throughout the state. We talked to as many people, to as many supporters and detractors as we could. We built a brand.
- In the meantime, we knew we would look more legitimate and more respected if we showed people not just medical marijuana, whatever that really was, but ourselves, why we were fighting for this and what we really wanted then they might be more open to looking at the message and not writing it off. This was an education campaign, educating people about cannabis and about epilepsy. We taught people what it was like to be a person with epilepsy and a parent of child with epilepsy. We created the Grey Matters Campaign. We had to be clear. We had to open ourselves up, which was very difficult. None of us were used to being public about our son’s epilepsy, none of us wore it like a badge of honor, so we were used to talking about it with quiet respect for our children’s sake. Now we would have to let everyone see the ugliness that was seizures. We began talking about a website and we also began settling into our responsibilities. And the ‘Mormon Mom’s’ were born. We didn’t call ourselves that, but when we heard it, our families joked we were the Mormon Mom’s for Marijuana and wanted us to use a 3M logo. It was at that moment we knew that our effort had to be branded. We removed all ego, and once we were a little more comfortable, we reached out to our OWN legislators. Who almost killed the effort immediately.
- The first thing we knew we needed to do was get a sponsor that was not automatically in support. Why? Respect. We needed this to not be a laughable effort, the stakes were too high. No offense to any legislators, but, in Utah we needed a conservative republican. That would be THE single largest pre-bill challenge. We took our time, we began to build an excel spreadsheet of the legislators, we added, their contact and as we added more people to the effort we found out who their constituents were and added their names to their legislators. And then one day, another opportunity presented itself. I got a Facebook PM: have you seen what Laura Warburton is saying about you? Who? Go look. Looking turned to reading, and I could have just shrugged her comments off but Laura presented the very first argument we had to counter: The good luck getting that to pass. Translation: prejudice. It fell back to everyone knows everything about marijuana. Instead of just letting it go, I politely sent her a message and explained what we WERE talking about. A few back and forth and a lot of explanation about epilepsy later, she wanted to meet. Not just meet with us but wanted us to meet with Rep. Froerer. Immediately I did some research and became VERY frightened and excited. Rep. Froerer had, the year before, crafted and passed the spice bill. If we could win his support, we had a real chance. This was our second big test…and we nailed it.
- In the excitement of presenting your need, it is of vital importance that you take the lead from your sponsor. If your sponsor is too busy to give you time, remember the AMOUNT of legislation they are working with, get a game plan from the start and work within that. NEVER blindside your sponsor or any legislator you are speaking with. Changing the plan and making him or her scramble to fix your loose lips costs time and effort, two things that your legislator is in need of during session. You may be the resident expert on the subject but that doesn’t mean they need to be. Be there to answer questions, never misrepresent yourself or your effort or the respect you have received is gone. ONE lie, ONE fib to make yourself look better and you will never be trusted again. It’s ok to say: I don’t know but I will find out. THEN…find out and send an update.
- It was very tough for us to stay quiet and keep 50 very passionate families and their families from taking matters into their own hands. We created a private Facebook group to keep people as informed as we could. Our image was so carefully crafted, albeit TRUTHFUL, the message had to stay untainted. We spent a few weeks not knowing what was going on but we waited until there was something to know and we prepped the families with what would be expected of them once we did have a direction or information. With this effort, we couldn’t be in the media ALL the time, and we didn’t want to annoy anyone, there was a history of legislators being annoyed by groups supporting cannabis and we had to make sure we were not lumped into that and at first, we were. Once everyone knew we weren’t, they were more receptive and then we had to get the message out quickly.
- Daily emails are annoying, no one likes them, and eventually everyone will remove themselves from an annoying mailing list. Why would anyone think that a legislator is going to be more receptive to that? The ‘you work for me’ line, as much truth as there is to it, is tiresome, your legislator also has 30,000 other people saying the same thing. What makes YOU stand out? Shaking hands, not fists. We waited until the day before committee meetings to have our families that were constituents of the committee members email and politely ask for support of the effort in committee that next day. We did NOT send emails everyday for a week. We timed them, whenever there was movement on the bill, we would also send thank you’s. WE DID NOT use templates. We sent our families an outline of what should be said, and what shouldn’t be said and then we let them say it, in their own words, it to their OWN legislator. The supporting organizations sent emails and phone calls to every committee member, but it was always respectful and polite, demanding and threatening is a sure way to get deleted. NO ONE will take verbal abuse and react positively. Time your communications.
- And if it is, there is very little you can do to change it. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t respectfully try but do NOT push it, you do NOT have to win everyone over. When you encounter and argument against your cause, do not engage in a back and forth: listen, evaluate what is being said, identify the common ground and ask for help to make it a better bill that they can support. YOU are not your bill, the bill belongs to the people, you are helping to make the bill the best possible bill it can be, and if that means you need to change YOUR idea of what is best, then so be it. Getting upset is a sure way to not get an audience again. It’s not cute, or positive or helpful when a legislator or their staff go the other way when you approach. Sometimes it can’t be avoided but make sure that you aren’t making yourself ineffectual by being too emotional about it. We were in the cafeteria once when a gentlemen Doctor that had been brought in to help kill our bill passed us with one of our well-known opponents. They stopped to introduce the ‘gentleman’, who proceeded to insult and demean us in all sorts of ways. We stayed calm and tried to talk to him, but all he could say was: This is a very emotional issue and you are being used by people who would take advantage of you, and I am here to help. It was…amusing. Luckily we did NOT have that reputation so when he told other legislators that we were emotionally-charged pawns, they did not believe him and once you are found to be wrong in one area, unfortunately, everything you say will be suspect.
- While this may not work federally, where everyone is narrow and then pounds are added on, Utah is known for its brevity in its bills. So, when we were asked what we wanted from the bill, our requests were more stringent in some ways and broader in others. We knew that we would have to give up some of the broad things and we were prepared to do that. When we were asked to actually give them up, we explained why it was important, and then compromised. We looked reasonable, while all along, we knew it probably wouldn’t make it into the final bill. Not deceptive, we are reasonable and always presented ourselves as such.
- There will come a time when you will doubt what you are doing, or at least most of us will, this is when your support staff will be the most important. Tell them your doubts and just as they will tell you theirs, you can be there to uplift each other. If you have decided to take the lead, to answer the questions to put yourself out there, to actually be at the Capitol every day for 45 days, that amount of dedication is both fulfilling and tiring. Especially if you have family that find themselves having to answer questions in your absence, you will hear about it from them. Remember: You believed in your cause 50 days before, countless others believe in you and YOU can make all the difference or you can let it all go. But what then, will history say about you? See it through, must all of your strength and dignity and see it through!