[Last update: 25 September 2002]
Action Alerts for Austin, TX, Activists
Below are current Action Alerts. Most have you send an email while a few urge other
actions such as making telephone calls, avoiding an activity (driving, purchasing something)
for a day, or other actions.
Note that although most of these actions request that you send an email, other methods of contact
are more effective. If you have the time, call the contactee and tell the staffer the information
that is to be conveyed in your own words (based on the proposed letter). Or copy the article to
a file, edit it, print it out, and mail (or fax) it in -- if you have the time. Avoid snail-mail only
on time-critical issues. Use email if you don't have the time to use a more personal method of
contact (or if no other contact method is provided).
Here are
addresses, phone numbers,fax numbers, and email addresses
for most government officials whom you are
asked to contact.
The utility of actions to take for contacting a decision maker is in decreasing order:
Whenever possible, when you are writing an email, edit at least the first line or two (and the
subject line if possible). This is important, because the recipient will just count it as someone
reached by a campaign, instead of someone who took an effort to communicate if the text is
identical.
One government regulation comment site stored each email it received so that it would be browsable,
but listed n-thousand copies of "the following email (with possible slight variations)".
If the site provides a snail-mail address of the person/institution you are writing to, print out
your edited copy and use snail mail. If it provides a fax number, but no snail-mail address,
print out your edited copy, sign it, and fax it in (if you have fax available) instead of using email.
If the site provides the email address of the person/institution you are writing to, you can copy
and paste from the alert to your own email program in order to tailor your message.
If you are calling someone, feel free to base you comments on the suggested text, but use
your own words. The staffer receiving your call will credit it far higher.
Note that when contacting a public official, your bona fides are important to them. So always
give your name and address (so that they know you are a constituent). Also ask them to please
have the official respond to you addressing your concern. They may just send you a form letter,
but they count the form letters they send out.
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