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FEATURE ARTICLE
The New Civics 101
Why you need to know your legislator and why your legislator needs to know you BY COLETTE M. KUBIESA AND RICHARD GRODSKY, CPRP
Early in our primary education, these words from the preamble of the U.S. Constitution—along with the icons of the flag and the Pledge of Allegiance—were our first indoctrination to the world of government. As we progressed through high school, we learned how our constitution works, how laws become laws and how you make a difference in the political process when you cast your vote. But, as a park professional or board member, do you really know how critical it is to exercise your right to use and be part of the political process? Do you understand how the system works, and I mean really works? Or, like most, do you throw up your hands and figure that, in the big picture, it really doesn't matter? This article explores the rules of the legislative process and how you can get involved or stay involved in the political process. We contend that this is both critical to our personal and professional lives. Whether you like it or not, government has and does make the largest impact on your life. Think about it. We, in municipal parks and recreation (whether elected or appointed), are part of government. Therefore, we should ask questions, understand the process and realize how this fits into our personal and professional lives. Have the rules of how government works changed since we first learned them? Are the rules too complicated? Are the rules made to be broken? Why do the rules have various interpretations? Did we ever know the rules? For this article, there are two keys to understanding the rules: everything is political, and be engaged in the process. Everything Is Political Do you believe that politics is reserved for those who work in the public sector or (even better) those who can't do anything else? Remember the old saying: "If you can't succeed in business, become a politician." If you believe this, consider how we refer to things as being political. • He got that promotion because he's political (knows how to play the game). • Boeing came to Illinois because of a political decision (tax incentives). • Children under the age of four are required to ride in a car seat (state law). • People marry for political reasons (e.g., political alliances through royal-marriages). By understanding that politics makes the world go around, it is easier to begin to understand the rules. One could contend that the only game in town is the political one. If this November/December 2001 ¦ 33 THE NEW CIVICS 101
weren't true, why are so many people lobbying legislators? You can be "political." Politicians want to get to know you; they love their constituents. They like when you meet them in the district office, but they really take stock in your visits to Springfield. As one high-ranking senator told us: "It means a lot to me and your agenda when you take your time to visit me down here." Meeting with your representatives is critical because you need to build-up your credibility with them. If you have not been to Springfield during the legislative session of the Illinois General Assembly, you should. There you see people from every walk of life and business trying to get their issues on the radar screen. Every day there is an activist group at the capitol building, demonstrating, rallying, and trying to get across its point to legislators. You need to do the same by letting them know the benefits of parks and recreation, and you can only do this by being recognized as your community leader. Government, at all levels, is the largest employer in the state and nation. This is not a value judgement. It's a fact. Are you beginning to see that everything is political? Be Engaged in the Process Are you engaged in the legislative process if you're watching television, listening to the radio, reading newspapers and magazines and voting every couple of years? Actually, you're only partially engaged if you're doing all of this. Most don't even pay attention to what's being said or written. Low voter turnout is a clear signal that most don't care enough to be engaged in the process. Often "lack of time" and "my vote won't matter" are used as reasons to disengage from the process. But look what happened in the 2000 presidential election: every vote counted. On a local level, the two most recent elections in Elmhurst resulted in citizens being engaged and passing a school referendum and a library referendum. The people in the community were engaged by attending open houses, being on committees that were involved in the issue pro and con, attending forums sponsored by the League of Women Voters and, yes, donating money and putting up yard signs. If they hadn't been, the outcome would have been very different. Most people do not believe they can get close to a political figure because they seem "larger than life." The reality is, you can and should get to know them. The more you talk to the people you elect, the more engaged in the process you will become. Political figures such as the governor, representative or congressman do not give their time trying to make the world a worse place; they really want to make a positive difference. Elected officials want to make the right decision and they depend on your help. 34 ¦ Illinois Parks and Recreation THE NEW CIVICS 101
Engagement is more than just getting to know the elected officials in your community, in your state legislature and the U.S. Congress. Networking becomes critical in this process. You never know who knows whom. You must widen your contact base. By being "engaged" in the process, you won't be an anonymous face in the crowd to these officials. You can make a difference in who gets noticed and how agendas move forward. • Invite legislators to park activities and special events. • Find out if they have children in your programs and ask them if they like the program. • Invite them on a tour of your facilities and while you are touring them around make sure they get to meet staff. They might even know some of them, which can only help in building credibility. A Lesson from the 2001 Spring Session During this year's spring session of the Illinois General Assembly, a group of 16 park districts had the opportunity to be part of the process of making a law. The process didn't start at the beginning of the session in January. It began seven years ago. In 1994 and 1995, when clarification of the tax cap was enacted by the Illinois General Assembly for non-referendum bonds, the year 1994 was the date used to restore limited bonding. As an inadvertent result of the legislation, 16 park districts lost no less than 51 percent of their bonding ability based on the notch year 1994. So, they joined together to seek a clarification of the law to restore their limited bonding within the tax cap law back to 1991, the year the tax cap took effect. Staff and park board members of these districts had no choice other than to play by the rules and participate in the political process. We began interacting with legislators in order to develop acceptable and appropriate language for our bill. We learned how the political system works and who was in control. Although it felt like the rules changed on a daily basis, the fact is they didn't. Some parts of the process—such as who controls a piece of legislation—changed from day-to-day and even minute-to-minute. Yet our basic two rules did not change: "everything is political" and "be engaged." Laws do not become laws overnight and many times what you think would be a good piece of legislation doesn't become a law at all. Many people are involved in the process. According to Peter Murphy, general counsel for the Illinois Association of Park Districts: "The passing of a piece of legislation is not a precise art. The people and players are what makes this an interesting and fluid process." The group of 16 park districts could not predict how legislators would react to the legislation until we engaged in serious dialogue about the importance of our cause. Legislators have many people pulling at them from all directions. We had to make sure that our bill was simple, narrow in scope and understandable. The reality is, those in power positions control the process and we communicated, cajoled, informed, enlightened and just talked to them to make sure they could support the legislation. You must play the game with those who represent you and to do this effectively you cannot play favorites. We used to think that just knowing our local state legislators was enough, but we found out that we must reach out to other legislators and their staff because it takes a coalition of people to vote in favor of legislation you may be proposing. There are liberals and conservatives on each side of the aisle. Staff of these legislators have influence in the decision-making process, which is why it is critical to work towards bipartisan support. How did our legislation fare during the spring session? It passed the Illinois Senate and, after modifications in the House of Representatives, it passed on the last day of session on May 31. And the coalition has continued to work during the summer and into the fall Veto Session to get to our goal: moving forward a bill and making it a public act. The Founding Fathers of our nation setup a dynamic democratic system that is timeless. Some of us just do not want to be part of the process. After reading this article, we hope you will get involved. After all, it is in our collective best interest to be involved. We contend the rules have not changed. We just need to remember and use them. Everything is political. Be engaged.
COLETTE M. KUBIESA
RICHARD GRODSKY, CPRP
November/December 2001 ¦ 35 |
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