Brains Will Only Get You So Far, and Luck Will Always Run Out

Hecate!

Our organization stepped up to the plate and offered a substantive policy solution to one of the most difficult and complicated public policy problems of our day, namely health care.

We were brave enough to speak truth to power, namely businesses who do not provide affordable health insurance to their employees. Our bill mandated them to contribute to the cost of the health care of their own employees who were forced into the taxpayer supported free care system. They call it a business tax, we call it paying their fair share.

We were smart enough to figure out a way to direct those fair share taxes to a range of health care programs for almost all of the uninsured in our state.

We were lucky enough to find a champion in the new Speaker of the House who, Lord knows needed way to demonstrate his policy prowess, and now everybody is coming out of the woodwork to pick pick pick at every single little thing.

Now the Speaker is being forced to meet with every single special interest group to fix their little problem instead of getting this comprehensive bill through. Can't we fix all these little problems later?

Hecate says;

"Brains will only get you so far, and luck will always run out." That's a line spoken by Harvey Kietel playing the Police Officer chasing Thelma and Louise, who five minutes later drive off a cliff rather than get caught.

Your brains have gotten you pretty far, and now you need to take advantage of what luck has brought you and trust the Speaker's instinct to try and fix what he can fix now. He has no interest in driving off a cliff, and I hope you don't either.

The Road to Perdition

Hecate:

I am a local elected official responding to your last comment excusing rank and file legislators who don't read long complex and complicated legislation being pushed through by the "leadership" in the closing hours of a long session because they (the rank and file legislator)don't have the time or the technical expertise to interpert all the information distributed via fact sheets and briefings.

That excuse sounds like the one the Democrats in Washington are using to whine about their stupid vote for the war that was based on bad information from a President they neither trusted or respected at the time. I think the Vice President has a point calling this kind of behavior "shameless, reprehensible, dishonest and corrupt".

I know I read every single local ordinance before I have to vote on it, and carry out some independent research to boot. If I'm suspicious of bad information, I move to postpone the vote or if I lose the postponement, I abstain from the vote, and make a public statement accordingly. To behave otherwise is to take the first step on the road to perdition.

Hecate responds:

You are a practically perfect person, and the Road to Perdition is pretty crowded anyway.

It was a long and complicated bill but at least I didn't have time to read it........

Hecate:

Last week our legislature passed a "first in the nation" comprehensive health reform legislation that really really screws our little agency that serves low income uninsured people. We did everything you told us to do..........we developed short easy to understand fact sheets and background papers that we used to brief our legislative delegation, the staffs of both Ways and Means committee , the Speaker and the Senate President. We got the commitment of two key legislators who promised to protect our interests. We walked our so called champions, and their staffs through about two inches of detailed background and made our policy analysts available to them at a moments notice. When the leadership tried to rush a 160 page bill through in less than 24 hours, our legislative sponsors were at least able to file a couple of amendments (that we wrote), but they weren't even brought up for debate!! It was all over so fast after months and months of lobbying. And the kicker was when one member of our legislative delegation made a joke about it --"It was a long and complicated bill, but at least I didn't have time to read it." I think that's just reprehensible!!!

Hecate says:

Well s/he was problably a little tired and cranky from trying to figure out the bill in the first place, never mind trying to figure out how the bill impacted your agency. Sounds like you did everything right but still failed to convince the Leadership that it was a top priority to protect your agency. Hard to swallow, I know.

Big complicated bills with lots of competing interests from a couple of hundred different stakeholders with millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs at stake, often are rushed through quickly after a couple of months of figuring out how to balance all the different interests. The goal is to make sure all the "big guys" don't get everything they want, but most of them get something. Lots of drafting mistakes are made in the margins because every section that benefits one stakeholder affects a dozen others, and vice versa. Trust me the leadership will be releasing several bills in the near future offering "technical corrections" to the big bill. Your champions still can make things right.

It's About Time Don't You Think?

Dear Hecate,

What's going on with all of this talk about health care "reform"? It seems as though every state in the union is responding to their own health care "crisis" and deciding they have to "do something". Some states are cutting their health care programs and others are expanding their health care programs and still others are creating blue ribbon commissions to study their health care programs. What's the big deal? As far as I can tell, there is a "crisis" in public education, public transportation and public safty, never mind climate changes and global warming. Why health care? Why now?

Hecate says;

Aside from those of you who like to suffer or who have no loved ones to shield from suffering, most of you humans seem to value having good health care if you or your loved ones need it. That includes politicans in your country, who increasingly are becoming aware that getting good health care seems to be a increasingly difficult for more and more people in their districts. And sometimes even for themselves and their loved ones. So, they're trying to figure out what do about it. It's about time, don't you think?

How Many Times in a Political Career.............

Dear Hecate,

How many times during a political career can a Legislative Leader take the bold step of creating really good public policy that finally redistributes government resources and services more fairly and pisses off powerful provider and interest groups at the same time?

Hecate's Answer

That's why they're called leaders, and she can do it as many times as she can hold on to her own seat in her own district,as many times as as she can absorb the political heat herself, and as many times as she can help her members get reelected by making sure they each have a couple of hero opportunities for their own district.

By the way, it's the same way strong legislative leaders make bad public policy too.

Making New Champions

Dear Hecate

I run a legal services program that tries to help very poor people who are getting ripped off by their landlords who threaten them with eviction if they complain about the lack of heat, by their employers who threaten them with termination if they complain about not getting overtime pay, and by hostile state welfare workers who threaten to take away their cash assistance, food stamps or subsidized housing vouchers if they forget to resubmit their 6 page application.

While our legal services programs get some funds from our state government every year, it's not nearly enough to address our long waiting lists, and begin to pay our lawyers and para- legals a fair wage. We do have a couple of supporters in the state legislature who try hard to get us the 25% or 40% increase we need, but all we ever get is a 10% increase year after year. And while the state revenues are increasing they always spend it on some other "emergency" like health care reform or public education reform. What do we have to do to get some attention around here?


Hecate says

Congratulations for getting 10% increases year after year for a program that defends politically powerless poor people against powerful greedy landlords, heartless employers and mean state employees who problably complain to their state legislators about uppity lawyers getting state money to harass them.

One way to create an emergency would be if one of the characters mentioned above was able to convince a powerful politican to zero you out entirely!! Then you could rally the troops, get your budget restored, -- and start all over again getting regular 10% increases.

Another way is to find a compelling way way to tell each legislator the stories of the folks you have helped in their district. You'd be surprised to find out what they don't know about the good things you do, and you'll find new champions. Maybe even the ver legislators who are the champions of better health care and education for your clients!!

Implementation Blues

Dear Hecate

Thanks to the help and support of many experienced advocates for low income people who know their way around our State Capital, our little non profit program for disabled homeless persons was able to win an "earmark" in the homeless shelter line item that directs not less than $120,000 to a demonstration project to provide special services including adaptive equipment and furnishings for familes with disabled children. I'ts been murder getting that money from the Department!! First of all, since we were not specifically named, some of our "colleagues" in the shelter business are trying to get some of the money, and second, the bureaucrats in the Department are devising such a complicated and complex application process that we'll have to dedicate two staff people to fill out the forms!! Winning the earmark was easy compared to convincing the Department to cut some red tape so we can get our money.

Hecate says

Get over it. It ain't your money. It's the taxpayers, and the Department is accountable for how it will be spent. Stop whining and start filling out the forms. Hire consultants if you have to. Did you really expect the Department to hand you over a $120,000 check without going through a process to see if there was another shelter provider who could do the job better? Think about it. If one of your "colleagues" had lobbied hard to get the state to fund a new demonstration project that your program could administer effectively, I assume you would be quick to fill out all those forms.

Get Behind the Mule in the Morning and Plow

Dear Hecate

We live up the street from a constuction company that just got expanded. Now big diesel trucks carrying other equipment roar out of there every morning just as the middle school kids are leaving for school and come home every afternoon when the little kids are getting home from school. We talked to the new owner who shrugged and said he would talk to his drivers about slowing down, but they haven't. One of the mothers across the street says we should demonstrate by sitting down in front of the trucks, like she saw in a TV show. What do you think.


Hecate

Great issue. Nothing like a few Mothers protecting their children to make city officials want to come to the rescue. First some pre planning and preparation work. Put together a letter from you and other neighborhood Moms that describes the public safty and public health dangers of fast trucks spewing diesel fuel. Send it to the Mayor, send it to the City Council. Contact the Board of Health to complain about the diesel fuel triggering asthma attacks. Ask for a meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals to limit their hours of operation and use of residential roads. Get the preliminary organizing work done, and THEN you can get some really powerful publicity by organizing a Mothers March and Sit In. Notify the police of your plans, organize some non demonstrating neighbors to take pictures in case the press doesn't show up.

Often Wrong but Never in Doubt

Question

How come Governor Romney gets a day of good press for a "bull horn" moment, no matter how insignificant the issue, no matter how goofy the opinion. Rarely do the reporters include any comments from affected constituents, even more rarely is there any next day follow up to expose the goofiness.

Hecate's Answer

While all Governors and other heads of Government are often wrong, they cannot appear to be in doubt at the bull horn moment. Hence the power points and the timing of the press conference late in the day so that the press does not have the time to research the doubt before the deadline. The next day, they have other stories to cover. Sooner or later, what comes around will go around, and some enterprising reporter will write a story listing all the goofs. Look for those stories to start appearing as this Governor gets closer to running for President. You can help by building a relationship with the reporters and making sure they keep a list of the goofs you know about.

Working with Staff -- The Good and the Bad

Question:
All the professional lobbyists and former legislators we talk to tell us that we should not consider it insulting when we are told we can't meet with the individual legislators in our delegation, and are referred to staff. And while we have built a wonderful relationship with some staff people, others need some active listening training to put it kindly, and at least one staff person has been downright rude. And if that's not enough, the good ones seem to leave after a few years!

Hecate's answer
After every meeting with staff -- good or bad -- write a polite note to the legislator, recapping the meeting,listing the specific requests you made, and any follow up actions. If the meeting went well, say so and compliment the staff for being helpful and responsive. If there have been any promises made to follow up, mention them. If the meeting did not go well, your polite note should restate the problem, your proposed solution and be specific about how the staff person responded to each point. End by simply saying your group was "disappointed", and hope to have the another opportunity to present your information.

Of course the good ones leave, sometimes to higher ranking, better paying jobs in Government, sometimes to the dreaded private sector to become very effective lobbyists, sometimes to run for office themselves. At least they know what they are getting into.

It's All About Accomplishment

Question:

At least the President is acknowledging that the Federal Government must invest billions of dollars to help the low income survivors of Katrina "get themselves back on their feet", and he seems willing to find the money to pay for their health care and create an array of innovative housing and jobs programs.

Meanwhile our Governor is getting lots of national press by continuing to promote himself as a candidate for President and pushing for tax cuts. He will no doubt get lots more press (and raise more money from out of state contributors)when he announces that he has failed because he is a "red speck" in a blue state. Talk about setting yourself up to win the blame game.

Meanwhile the Democratic Legislative Leadership has been working hard all summer to get ready pass legislation to spend the Governor's proposed tax cut on a new jobs program and comprehensive health care reform that will help the low income residents of Massachusetts. And neither one is getting any positive press for "doing the right thing"at all.

Hecate's Answer

Well good for you for at least acknowledging that the President is doing the right thing "at last". Hecate wonders if he has any political capital as a lame duck to convince his conservative supporters to fund the programs.

As for the press covering your Governor every time he opens his mouth, that's because he opens his mouth often. His staff brainstorms clever quotes over the newspaper headlines every morning, and then arranges "press opportunities" for him to opine. It's a win win, because even when the clever quote is particularly insensitive or stupid and prompts a strong reaction (i.e. his proposal to phone tap local Muslim leaders) he gets a second day of press "clarifying" his original remarks.

As for the Democratic Leadership not being acknowledged for their hard work over the summer, that's because they've been keeping their negotiations with all the key stakeholders quiet, which Hecate thinks is too bad for their public image as Leaders but problably good for the policy making process.

Anyway neither of them care as much as you may think they should about their public image. The Speaker has to care what folks in his district and 159 legislators think about him, and the Senate President only has to care about 39 other senators and the folks in his district. And they don't have to worry about a national image at all!

For them, it's all about accomplishment.

Hope is Not a Course of Action

All of us who advocate for the poor, the elderly and the disabled in Massachusetts are struggling to manage our ongoing anger towards the Romney administration for their unwillingness to help the poor and homeless “get back on their feet” in Massachusetts at the very same moment our agencies and organizations stand beside him contributing our private and personal resources to welcome the poor, elderly and disabled homeless survivors of Katrina.

The front page of the September 9 Globe illuminated the contradictions in the Romney administrations’ stance toward the poor.

Evacuees arrive on Cape above the fold and Back Bay Shantytowns dismantled below the fold.

The first story illustrates the Governor’s willingness to help the survivors of Katrina for as long as it takes for them to “get back on their feet”. The second story illustrates his willingness to knock right back down hundreds of homeless men and women who had set up encampments on state owned property.

There are a lot of contradictions in our work too, but this much is clear.

We’re glad the Governor has had the opportunity to demonstrate his humanity for those less fortunate and we support spending our taxpayer money on cash, housing and medical care to survivors from other states. That sense of decency was not apparent in the FY06 budget process when he vetoed hundreds of budget amendments providing for tiny incremental improvements in housing, cash assistance and job training programs. Thankfully our Legislature, including many Republicans, over rode those vetoes.

We hope that the Governors sense of decency can extend to those in Massachusetts who have suffered a variety of personal and family disasters and who are not fortunate enough to be able to get back on their feet without government’s help.

We hope Governor Romney will support equipping his administration with the resources necessary to create a culture of opportunity for these unfortunate, and stop worrying about them possibly enjoying a short period of dependency.

What can we do to get him to reconsider his refusal to help he thousands and thousands of poor elderly and disabled residents on the edge of disaster here in Massachusetts?

Hecate's Advice

Hecate knows that you and hundreds of advocates from a thousand different organization will continue to do the political organizing and mobilizing work it takes to keep families safe and healthy in the Massachusetts economy.


Keep your hope alive, as Jesse would say, but also start working on a concrete solution. How about encouraging the Democratic Leadership in the House and Senate to put those incremental restorations you fought so hard for back into the upcoming supplemental budget and on his desk to sign this time. Maybe his heart is softening.


And then you can offer him another Hero Opportunity. Here’s a script.................

“We have the capacity to end homelessness in Massachusetts, to make our public schools the best in America, and to provide affordable healthcare to our people. But to do it we would have to stop cutting taxes and we may have to repeal some tax cuts. I know that won’t be politically easy, but it is the right thing to do for the people of Massachusetts and I will make it happen.” If Romney took the lead, nobody could stop him. He would improve the lives of millions of ordinary people, and strengthen our state’s economy for generations.

The Gentle Conspiracies of Loyal Staff

Question

I work for an appointed state official charged with drafting regulations for providers who deliver a very controversial health service. Activists from both sides of the controversy are bombarding our office with meeting requests that border on threats, with pages and pages of petitions and handwritten "testimony", and yesterday we had 10 folks staging a three hour vigil outside on the sidewalk! Just yesterday the Governor came out publically on one side without bothering to tell us first. The press is going crazy, activists from both sides are going crazy and my boss is going crazy trying to manage an honest process based on the facts and the law. The only thing I can do is try to be polite to everybody, including the creep from the governor's office who didn't believe me when I said my boss was unavailable at the moment, and keep making more herbal tea. Any advice for my boss, who is worried that the Governor's public statement will make the public and the press cast doubt on our office's ability to make an honest decision based on the facts and the law?

Hecate's Answer

Your boss can't lose anything, not even the job, by going ahead and administering a fair promulgation process. You make sure the office puts together a full public hearing, reads and notes everything submitted by anybody including the handwritten letters and Governor's official testimony. Then the office can make a decision based on the facts and the law, and if the creep from the Governor's office doesn't like it tell him to talk to me, and I'll send him to Tartarus.

Finally, your boss is lucky to have you. Keep making that tea.

And then there's the oranges. ......

Question

Lots of things going on in my state legislature, even in August, with auto insurace reform, health reform, and a jobs program on the schedule for the fall. Now the Speaker and the Senate President -- two nice Italian boys from the North End-- have gone on a toot to Israel of all places. In the middle of the removals in the Gaza Strip of all times. I don't understand what these junkets accomplish.

Hecate's Answer

Oh let them have a little fun-- they've been working hard, and it's really no big deal. First of all two nice Italian boys from the North End are going to see and maybe even experience what thousands of years of REAL deep seated conflict produces. It might make their nice little boy turf fights look fixable. And as you may have experienced yourself, there is nothing like getting away to a new enviornment with professional colleagues to reflect on who you are and where you're going. Sometimes you can even figure out how to get there!

And then there's the oranges and the figs and the olives.........almost as good as you can get in Greece.

Right Now Somebody is Thinking of Something Worse!

Question

I think the worst part of my government relations job is dealing with an individual bureaucrat on a power trip. And I am referring to a lady with incredible power over all of us providers because she is the one who has final approval over awarding contracts!! Some of my "colleagues" have tried everything to get on her good side, turning field inspections into fancy banquets with board members, asking her to speak at out of state conferences -- everything short of out-right cash bribe. To no avail. She's still as tight as a drum, and continues to ask us to amend and re-amend our contracts. What can we do to get her to help us with all of the problems we have trying to run a program and get people paid on time!!!

Hecate's Answer

Right now somebody is thinking of something worse! Namely Joe DeNucci your State Auditor. Imagine what headlines he could make with your "colleagues" clumsy attempts to influence a public official. Anyway, the power your bureaucratic friend has is really quite limited. She can can only operate in three areas. 1. What she must do. 2. What she must not do,lest she exceed her authority. 3. What she may do at her discretion. It sounds to me like your REAL professional colleague is this competent bureaucrat who simply ignores silly attempts to curry her favor instead of calling Joe. Hecate's advice is to write your contract correctly the first time, and the second time until you get it right!!

The Power of Persuasion and the Persuasion of Power

Question
Our non-profit organization advocates for affordable housing in a medium sized city in Southern New England. We are in the middle of a lot of development. Our Executive Director issues regular hard hitting press releases documenting the usual array of insider dealing between developers and city officials that just get “categorically denied” in a days worth of press if we’re lucky. We applied for a foundation grant to train and organize neighborhood activists to pressure the Mayor, the Board of Aldermen and the various city agencies that have anything to do with approving development projects, and we got it. BUT the Foundation’s award letter says we can’t use any of the money for lobbying!! What’s that about? What are we supposed to do – train them, mobilize them but don’t let them actually talk to any public official? It’s very frustrating.

Hecate’s Answer
Hecate thinks you should take a deep breath, sit down, sign the award letter and write a nice thank you note to the President of the Foundation telling him or her that with their generous grant you are going to be able to empower your grassroots members to make their voice heard at city hall this year, and sign the award letter. Then Hecate thinks you should use the money to hire an organizer to train and mobilize your board volunteers, neighborhood folks and allies. Your Executive Director should continue to issue her press releases and visit public officials at city hall always accompanied by trained neighborhood folks and board volunteers who do all the talking while she and the paid organizer smile in the back of the crowd. That’s called empowering folks to making their voices heard and it’s NOT lobbying. You can google the Alliance for Justice if you don’t believe me. Your Executive Director will find her power of persuasion has been converted to the Persuasion of Power.

More on Facing Hard Realities

Q: I am really appalled at your cynical, patronizing and unkind “advice” to a professional lobbyist in the previous BLOG. The Lobbyist characterized us as "ideological" because we were unwilling to set aside their vision of setting up a statewide program for a pilot in four communities that “happened” to be in the districts of four legislative leaders. In our view this was NOT one of those infamous “Hero Opportunities” but an abuse of power and pork barrel politics of the worst sort. I’m afraid our lobbyist was too quick to advise us to “cut a deal” instead of pushing a little longer to get the whole thing. I would rather you post this as a question rather than it getting lost in a BLOG comment.

A. Please be patient with the editing of your question and the phrasing of this answer, Hecate is being careful to protect you and your organization from wrath of some short tempered and thin skinned legislative leaders who might take some offense at some of your comments. Let me tell you about two of the legislative leaders you named in your email. They were willing to champion your idea because it has real possibilities for helping constituents in their district. Having a great deal of experience in the state capital, they also know that even the most exciting and innovative program idea needs to be started up carefully in order to demonstrate and measure outcomes in selected diverse areas before the state can (or should) make a significant investment or undertake a major reorganization. It would be a pity if the leaders figured out that you were the one who sent in a pejorative comment accusing them of pork barrel politics and abuse of power. All they were doing was working you into a time tested and sensible process for making your vision come true. My advice is to start now to get into the next budget. I bet your lobbyist can explain away your reluctance to “cut a deal” as naiveté and I trust you can put together at least four public Hero Events for your legislative champions next spring.

Realists vs Idealists

Q. I am soooooooooooo sick of working with single issue ideologues, who tell me to reject an offer to set up a one year pilot project is "unacceptable". I'm ready to punch them out.

A. Calm down, and be patient. All you want to do is win some positive policy change. Ideologues sometimes need help with the fundimental conflict between their subjective expectations and cruel reality of the policy making process. Sooner or later they'll learn they have to take what they get and be thankful for it. Meanwhile don't expect any of those thanks to be directed to you

Good Luck, You'll Need a Lot of It.

A. I appreciated your comments about being “patient” with our new supposed-to-be liberal Speaker, (July 15,2005), but our organization has been working our butts off to get 100 House members committed to vote yes on legislation permitting a limited number of undocumented young people to pay in state tuition rates at our local state colleges and university. We know we need 109 to override the Governor’s expected veto in the House, and we know the Speaker is supportive (he’s one of the 100.) We have seen a lot of evidence that the Speaker can push through stuff that he cares about in a couple of days – like a $60 million subsidy to the film business. Why can’t we get him to look at our list of leaning yeses and “convince” 10 or so to commit and we can get this passed and over ridden before the summer recess so these kids can go school this fall? The Senate president has said publicly he has the two thirds vote necessary to override in the Senate.

B. The answer is yes of course it can be done, but there are a lot of “ifs” to think about. If you can convince your Speaker to personally look at your vote count and confirm that all of your 100 commitments are securely committed (in other words make sure you and your supporters have not interpreted a leaning yes or a maybe as a committed yes); and if he is able to identify 10 leaning yeses (a reasonable number) who will commit to him on this vote in return for some reasonable favor or consideration from him, (everything from appreciative personal attention to a commitment to help with another piece of pending legislation to a commitment to visit the district for a local event) he would probably be willing to let the vote come up before the summer recess. Then all you have to worry about is if the Senate President can take it up before the summer recess and if the Governor would veto it before the summer recess (and not fool around with a delaying amendment) and if the vetoes can be taken up in both chambers before the summer recess. That's a lot to do in 7 days. Good luck , you’ll need a lot of it.

Manufacturing Your Own Crisis

Q. It isn’t only Governors who wait until there is a crisis to finally move on fixing a problem, Legislators do too!! (Hecate July 19, 2005) I’m a business man, and I make the “policy decisions” here every day that determine what hours people work, how much they pay for their health care, how many sick days they have etc etc. My people are paid to spot potential problems and give me some possible solutions that include cost and benefits before the problem turns into a crisis. What is wrong with these fellows? My wife is involved in a statewide organization that has been trying to pass a law that would forbid public schools from using toxic cleaning fluids—the ones with warning labels all over them. In our children’s school an untrained janitor spilled a pail of undiluted poisonous stuff on the gym floor and they closed the gym for a day. Later my wife found out that they brought in a special company to clean it up – complete with people with white jumpsuits and gasmasks. The committee chair responded told the group testifying that “these things happen” and they can’t legislate on one incident. What do we have to do, drag some asthmatic kids and have them drop their used inhalers in a pile outside the state capital?

A. Good idea!! Unlike the private sector, public policy makers do not have the luxury of having enough paid staff to spot every potential problem in their bailiwick, whether it’s the environment or transportation or foster care. They depend on large part on organized neighborhood volunteers, statewide special interest groups and paid lobbyists from various business interests to bring them problems and suggest effective affordable solutions. Documenting the statewide impact of a potential problem is always an important first step. So, organizing some parents of asthmatic kids from across the state to bring some used inhalers into the state house is a good way to spread your personal outrage around a little and create your own little crisis that might just prompt some movement from the legislature. By the way what happened to the janitor? Does s/he belong to a union? Was there some violation of occupational health and safety laws and regulations?

On Making Decisions

Q. Why is it that politicians (especially Governors) only respond to crisis? We've been collecting data and suggesting specific solutions to the problems in foster care for years especially about the lack of training and support for foster parents, and the only time our Governor pays attention is right after a scandal that involves a poorly trained, poorly supported and poorly supervised foster parent? And then he's only in the blame game.

A. I watched a Governor last year who ran for office promising to pursue her own aggressive agenda to reform this and reorganize that and to develop new ways to respond to old problems, and foster care was high on the list because she was a trained social worker. Within 3 months she was moaning and groaning that all she could do was respond to real and manufactured "crisis" created by people outside her office: other constitutional offices, the legislature, special interest groups and the media. "Why can't I just do the stuff I want to do?" Her chief of staff suggested that she might think about calling up the Commissioner and asking if he could find a crisis or two, and that was pretty good advice. Your job is to be there prepared to offer your specific, doable and timely solutions.

An observation on Indecision

Q. In Massachusetts we finally have a new Speaker, with a history of being supportive of more and better services for the poor the elderly and the disabled. (A nice change) He has also promised an open process where every question, no matter how controversial will have a full and fair debate. (That's even nicer.) However, the House Budget did not increase many of our programs and did not include any new outside sections that created "new policy" (our only vehicle for creating new programs for the past 15 years). Meanwhile the Senate President is out there promoting a new policy a month and the Governor comes up with an idea every couple of days. What's going on?

A. Hecate will make one observation and give you one piece of advice. Advice first: be patient. Your new Speaker has just gotten his new team in place and most of them have never served a Speaker who asked them to exercise their own judgement about anything, and they have to practice a little bit. (Committee hearings and deliberations are, after all the first step in a full and fair debate.) Observation: proposing a specific new policy implies an informed and fact based decision, and maybe he wants to be in consultation with his leadership team a little longer, maybe he's just waiting for more information, maybe he's just watching what everyone else does first. Indecision is, after all, the backbone of flexibility.

The Value of a Diverse Local Coalition

Q. I’m a member of a state association of parents of profoundly disabled children. We’re building a local coalition of people to support our bill to create a parent support network linked to the local Departments of Public Health. I’m supposed to reach out to the local chapter of social workers, the teachers union, the nurses association, the medical society, the local hospital and health center and local churches and synagogues. I’m really nervous that the parents’ voices will get drowned in a coalition with all these smart professionals who are used to telling us what we should do and how we should think.

A. You’re right to be protective of the parents’ role. However, organizing and running a diverse local coalition is a great opportunity for parents like you to develop leadership skills and confidence. It will be easier than you think because the professional groups you have listed are already quite used to being solicited to join a coalition to support another group’s policy campaign. If you can persuade them to get involved, and they determine that your campaign is in their direct self interest, they will be happy to yield the leadership of your campaign to you. They are already involved in their own priority policy campaigns and are pretty busy pushing their own stuff.

Lobbying Activities and Your Non-Profiit 501(c)3 Status

Q I’m a volunteer board member of a nonprofit agency, and the state has run out of money to fund our rape crisis center. We are trying to figure out if we can get involved in a campaign to convince the Governor to find the money elsewhere or submit a supplemental budget to the Legislature. Our lawyer warned us that if we, as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, got involved in any lobbying we could lose our nonprofit status and all of our funding from foundations and individual contributors.

A. Find another lawyer or accountant who has read and understands the IRS regulations governing public charities. Your 501(c)3 organization is a public charity. The IRS regulations do impose limitations on lobbying, but do not forbid it. Take a good look at the Alliance for Justice at www.allianceforjustice.org/nonprofit. Their materials spell out very clearly the limitations on how much of a non-profit’s budget (staff time and material resources) may be spent on lobbying activities. Meanwhile, please know that as a volunteer board member you can do all the lobbying you want as long as you avoid threats of bodily harm and bribes.

Access to Your Legislator

Q. Every time I call my State Representative, he’s always tied up in a meeting or in session, and I end up talking to a staff person. She is always nice and polite, and has been very helpful to me in the past, but damn it, I’d rather talk directly to my Rep than spend 10 minutes dictating a long message about my problem to somebody I barely know.

A. First of all you wouldn’t get 10 minutes of your Rep’s time; you’d get 2 minutes on the run. He wouldn’t be able to find any paper to write your story on, and if he had some he’d probably spell your name wrong and mix up your telephone number. You are so lucky! Good staffers are supposed to respond politely to both serious and silly requests from constituents. They keep files on each issue, record the names and numbers of all callers and figure out how to solve a constituent’s problem and then give their boss the credit for it. They even know how to decipher the scribbles on the scrap of paper that Rep throws on their desk with a “Here, take care of this guy for me will you?”