Eight Tips for Speaking to Your School Board or City Government During Public Comment
I’ve been on many sides of public advocacy campaigns. As a city attorney I have attended hundreds of council meetings, and reviewed the record in writ and appellate actions. As a lawyer for developers I’ve negotiated with city officials to get approvals for major projects. I was part of a community group that fought against oil drilling in my town. As a planning commissioner I have been the recipient of communications from concerned residents. I’ve spent hundreds of hours since March 2020 writing emails, making phone calls, and speaking at meetings to my elected representatives about a number of covid-related issues.
Whether the issue is big or small, there are a few principles that help make an argument persuasive to government officials.
1. Be brief.
Public officials are usually volunteers with full time jobs and families.
They’ve got a number of issues they are being asked to vote on. They may only have one minute to review your comments or listen to you, and you need to prioritize your best arguments and present them in the most persuasive manner.
Make a one-page bullet point outline to follow while you speak. Make sure your opinion is supported by verifiable facts and evidence.
If your argument strikes a chord with a public official, then they can easily look back at your outline to back up voting in support of your position, and it will be easier for them to identify the reasons why they are voting a certain way.
Practice in advance to make sure you can say what you need to say in under three minutes (or whatever the time limit on public comment is).
2. Remember Why You’re Speaking
Public speaking can be intimidating and scary, especially when there is a public audience.
Say what you need to say, even if your voice shakes. It’s better to speak your mind with a shaky voice than to stay silent.
If you’re advocating for your kids, keep a photo of them on hand to glance at if you start to feel nervous or overwhelmed. Keep your purpose in mind.
3. Provide Specific Examples About How a Policy Impacts You and Your Family
An anecdote about how a policy impacts you and your family is much more persuasive than a broad general statement. Be as specific as possible. Human stories generally resonate with public officials.
If you have a lot of data that you want to get into the record, submit it via a written public comment. Confirm with the clerk that it is being included. If they try to limit the number of words you can submit, tell them you’re not asking for it to be read aloud, but you want it to be considered by the board and included as written public comment.
4. Be Truthful
If you stretch the truth or lie, you will lose credibility, and your comments will be disregarded by commissioners/council.
In my capacity as a public official, I am diligent in my research and ask a lot of questions. I make it a point to verify the information I am relying on to cast my vote. I don’t like to have my time wasted and I do not like being lied to, so when anyone does that, they lose all credibility with me.
5. Be Respectful
There is a tendency to dehumanize government staff. Sometimes people don’t realize that the email address they use to contact their elected or appointed officials goes to a real human being, with a heart and soul and a family.
Generally, people in government service care about serving the public. They’re not robots, and for the most part they’re not in their position to hurt you or profit off of your misfortune (there are, of course, some exceptions). Some of the comments we receive can be cruel and rude and disrespectful. Calling people stupid, incompetent, losers, will not help your case. I understand how hopeless and frustrating the political process can be, but if your argument includes personal insults, you lose credibility. That kind of behavior hurts your case.
Some of the issues that have arisen during the pandemic have made me feel personally victimized by California’s policies and I have sent many, many emails and made many calls to my elected officials. I am guilty of being angry in my communications. But in almost every case, I received a productive response when my communications were calm and rational, and almost never received a response when my communications were laced with anger and outrage. So my point is – being angry and outraged is absolutely a natural response if you’re feeling unheard on issues that impact your life. But, if you want to bring about change, you have to try and temper that anger into a productive communication that will be well-received and not disregarded.
6. Build a Coalition
Public bodies will be more inclined to support a project or position if it is apparent that it’s important to more than just one person. If multiple people band together to support or oppose an issue, it will be more persuasive to the public agency.
It can be difficult to organize groups, especially during a pandemic when we can’t gather in person. Try emails, text chains, Facebook groups, websites, telegram.
7. Don’t Lead with Your Lawyer
An attorney speaking on behalf of a project or resident feels unnecessarily hostile and threatening. I would much rather hear from the person being impacted by whatever action or project is pending.
Lawyers should be a last resort after you’ve tried to get the attention of your local government.
If reasonable and rational efforts have failed, then it’s time to bring in a lawyer.
8. Build a Record
If something has to be litigated, you want to have sufficient information in the public record to support whatever legal action has to be taken.
Remember your public comment time for speaking is very brief, so you can submit supplemental written comments to put data into the record.
