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