For four years, Emily Ellsworth worked as a staffer for two congressmen, spending an inordinate amount of time screening calls and addressing concerns of constituents.
She knows how to get a lawmaker’s attention. She knows how they want to keep the district denizens happy. She knows how the lines of communications should work between the two. And she is an expert at recognizing why they break down.
Just days after the 2016 election, the 30-year-old Utahn began to offer snippets of advice to ordinary citizens, protesters, budding activists, and chronic irritants. It caught fire on Twitter, and she has since published a how-to guide for congressional engagement entitled “Call the Halls: Contacting your representatives the smart way,” which is available at her website for whatever price you want to pay.
We spoke with her Wednesday.
You’re a Republican from a neon red district. Why are you helping people push back against a GOP-dominated government?
After six years in government I was burned out, but the election sucked me back in. Since Trump won the nomination, I recognized we had a huge problem – not just a party problem, but one that affected everyone nationally. So joined Republican Women for Hillary, and started a local chapter here in Utah. When that didn’t work, the idea of living in the shadows wasn’t going to happen anymore. So I tweeted some ideas, it went viral, and actually, my advice is non-partisan. It doesn’t matter which side uses it. I’m just passionate about people taking charge.
You handled constituent services for Reps. Jason Chaffetz and Chris Stewart, so you took countless phone calls. Do you think the calls you took then are similar to the ones being placed around the country today?
They are probably larger in volume now. But I began in 2009 in a deeply red state after Obama’s inauguration, so I took a lot of angry calls from conservatives. I’m sure it’s similar to that, and I’m not comparing the two presidencies. But I feel that the outcome is probably similar – it’s changing the ways they’re doing phone systems in congress.
So people are wondering, how do I get my congressman’s attention, besides having the right zip code?
That’s the big one. But the 3 things I always mention are that your approach needs to be organic, authentic, and timely. Your rep should be able to verify you’re from the district, and you have to know what you’re talking about – articulate the problem you want to discuss, and stick to an issue that is timely and actionable. You have to be sure you know exactly what you want, your desired outcome, and that it’s clearly expressed in your message.
Phone calls trump emails and letters?
It depends. Phone calls to the district office are very effective, because someone has to answer your question right then. So if it’s a timely issue, make the phone call. If you want a lengthy response, sending a letter or email is good – but make sure they are written by you. Don’t use pamphlets or forms or emails generated by activist groups. Just write it from the heart.
You said that Tweeting or Facebook posts are largely ineffective. Why?
It’s not possible for the staff to tell whether the writer is from their district from a social media profile. A Tweet takes 10 seconds to write, and that’s about how much time they’ll give to read it and process it. The social media process moves so quickly it’s really out of sight, out of mind.
Is protest as effective as direct engagement with the person on the phone?
That depends on what your goal is. I would never discount people who protest and do that kind of activism, especially if they really understand what they’re doing and have a clear ask. However, if your goal is to have a meeting with a representative or staffer, showing up at a district office or having a loud protest isn’t going to accomplish that particular goal. It will get attention on local media, it will get attention on social media, and it will generate some buzz. But as far as getting through the door to your representative’s office, that’s probably not going to be received very well. So the first thing you must determine is your goal: If it’s to meet with the representative then you’d have to take a different strategy.
Emily Ellsworth, who was a constituent manager for two Congressmen from Utah, now gives advice to citizens who want to engage their representatives (Courtesy of Emily Ellsworth).Dave D’Alessandro | Star-Ledger Editorial Board
That will take a lot of people in New Jersey by surprise – no wonder town halls are as rare as the dodo here.
It’s tricky. Every representative runs their office a little differently. I’m not saying don’t protest – it’s important – but it won’t get you in the door because it goes back to what I said about having an organic and timely message. You have a clearly defined agenda.
For example, I’d meet frequently with groups that didn’t agree with us on anything. But it was as small group, they wanted to talk about immigration reform or DREAMERS, and we’re not going to turn away three or four constituents who brought along a group of kids under the DACA program who say, “We have stories we want to share with you.” We knew going in they didn’t appreciate our policy on this. But at the same time, knowing exactly what they wanted to talk about, knowing they were constituents, and knowing they had a story to tell, we absolutely met with them.
So it’s about getting a small group of people on one specific issue, and that issue shouldn’t be, ‘I want to yell at you about President Trump.’ It should be specific and timely, even if it is, ‘I want to talk to the Congressman about investigating Trump’s conflicts of interest.’ That would be an OK ask there.
The margin for success seems thin, because it’s based more on finding a sympathetic ear of a staffer than the rep’s engagement philosophy.
To be honest, when I started, I went in with this idea that I’d educate everyone – that people would come in and I’d tell them what they should know. That strategy backfired on me pretty quickly. I realized that the best thing I could do is just sit there and listen. People wanted to be heard, first and foremost; they didn’t want to listen to what I had to say. And they just wanted a chance to speak to the representative. And as a local staffer, you take that incredibly seriously. The staffers do care about their districts. They are part of the community.
But it seems that the goal of the vast majority is to hold a town hall – or public flogging.
A town hall is not a bad thing. But to demand it in that way is probably not going to work, given the temperament of the town halls. I can’t imagine any members are too excited about doing them, and frankly, not many of them have the skills to face down an angry room. But if your ultimate goal is to get in that room and have a conversation, you start with the staffer.
How do congressmen feel about coming back to their districts?
It varies. Remember when the ACA was passed, this was flipped – a lot of Democrats found themselves in very angry rooms. There are times when it’s more difficult to go home, and this is certainly one of them. But I am incredibly impressed and energized by the number of people who are really showing up to have their voices heard. Yes, even if it’s manifested in anger now, I’m hopeful that it’s going to continue and lead to real progress.
What did you think of the Chaffetz town hall spectacle last week?
I saw the video, and I was proud of the people who showed up and are having their voices heard – some for the first time. In some cases, you have local chapters of the ACLU holding activist training and they are packing rooms with thousands of people. We have a group here called Real Women Run who provide training for women to run for office. Hundreds are registering for these trainings and want to take it to the next level, and I can’t be more excited by that.
Is it important for citizens to call representatives they actually agree with?
Absolutely. We found that in our calls it was always nice to have people give support, and good for members to take those stories back to Washington, just so they can say ‘I received thousands of calls in support of this’ or use a story that illustrates why it’s important what they’re doing.
Is it productive to call representatives who do not represent you?
I’d say no. And pretty much every congressional staffer would say no. If someone calls from out of state or out of district, you tend to want to get them off the phone as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the staff and system is just not built for that kind of thing. So if you want to reach out to party or committee leadership, first call your own representative and let them know your feelings; then you call the committee or leadership office, and those staffers are better able to handle those types of requests.
Have you ever seen a congressional opinion turned around by a town hall or phone campaign?
Absolutely, there are ways conversations with your rep can change opinions. The best example was the SOPA and PIPA legislation about internet piracy and privacy. It was poorly crafted, and it was kind of a bill nobody had on their radar. But Reddit and others put out calls and said, ‘This is a bill we’re concerned about.’ And hundreds of thousands of people emailed or called that reps. That caused a 180, and it was remarkable – even people on the committee didn’t understand the mechanics of the internet or privacy.
Didn’t the Tea Party show us all how this is done? It’s all Civics 101, except sometimes they carried guns.
The lessons are similar. What I want is for people to have a stake in their government. People felt apathetic, and feel their numbers are small and that government doesn’t listen to them. And everyone else thinks that money moves the needle more. I think that does a disservice to harnessing the power your vote and your pressure can create. It’s not one voice that makes a difference, it’s thousands of them combined, carrying the same message. It has immense impact. That happened with the Tea Party.
How do you think your methods differ from the Indivisible group?
I can’t really say. I just know that I’m trying to give context to the situation, and empower people by explaining some of the mystification. Here’s what I mean: For many people I talk to, it was scary to call their representative the first time. But now they do it regularly, and it feels routine. Hopefully it means in the future they’ll run for office, or help out on a campaign, or just take that to the next level. But never stop the phone calls.
Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
