Bright Idea: Put Your Senator on Speed Dial
By Caitlin Marshall
What’s one five minute project you can do to make a big impact on climate?
Put your senator on speed dial!
Living in a small state, our reps are actually quite reachable, and the numbers of folks they each represent are not huge. Because of that, contact from just 3 to 5 constituents can sway their opinion. 3 to 5! That’s you, your sister, a couple friends, and the guy you chat with at the morning bus stop. And the easiest, but still very meaningful, direct appeal is a phone call.
Ok, maybe today’s smartphones don’t have speed dial, but the basic idea is this: take five minutes now to enter contact info for your representatives, right into your contacts, and they’ll forever be more reachable.
So, logistics. Here’s how to find your representatives, at various levels of government:
Go to https://www.maine.gov/portal/government/edemocracy/voter_lookup.php to enter your address.
The results will first show your voting information, i.e., where to vote (also useful!). Click the next tab over, “Elected Officials,” to see a list of your legislators.
Here is an example for 166 Brackett Street on the West End:
US Senate
Susan Collins – (202) 224-2523
Angus King – (202) 224-5344
US House
Chellie Pingree – (202) 225-6116
Maine Senate
Benjamin Chipman – (207) 287-1515
Maine House
Matt Moonen – (207) 287-1430
Your city rep takes one extra step.
Go back to the first tab of results, “Voting Information,” and the first thing you’ll see listed is your ward. Your ward is the same as your city council district.
Take note of that number and head over to the Portland city council page: https://www.portlandmaine.gov/741/Council-Bios. You’ll find city counselors listed by district:
District 2
Victoria Pelletier – (207) 864-8689
Go ahead and look up your reps! I’ll wait for ya…
And after you find your representatives…
Then put them in your phone contacts list. I enter their names starting with their title: “US Senator” or “State Rep. This way I remember who they are, and I can easily search for them. That’s it!
Now, the next time you get yet another email petition request, for a very worthy pro-environment bill, you can reach for the phone instead. (Or in addition to! It never hurts to sign petitions.) Just make a quick call, give your opinion, and move on with your day, knowing those five minutes made a huge impact.
Caitlin Marshall is a Portland resident and member of the Portland Climate Action Team (PCAT).
Bright Ideas is brought to you by PCAT, which meets the third Tuesday of the month, 6 – 7:30 p.m. All are welcome! FMI: portlandclimateaction@gmail.com.
