We’re All in This Together
CCL Lobby Days for a Newbie
By Madeleine Wright
This summer I travelled to Washington, D.C. with Citizens’ Climate Lobby to speak to lawmakers about pragmatic policies for addressing climate change.
My feelings were complex heading into Lobby Day. This was my first time representing Maine in any real way – I’m a recent transplant who has only weathered one winter. Also, it was my first time lobbying.
I felt unqualified compared to the veteran Mainers and experienced advocates I was paired with. At the same time, I felt a deep sense of obligation to participate in the conversation about realistic and meaningful climate policy.
This was a sphere of influence capable of generating real momentum, and my participation felt necessary.
Ultimately, determination won out over apprehension. It became clear that engaging with Republican and Democratic congressional members alongside my CCL colleagues was the most important way I could have spent that Tuesday in July.
Conversations with Senators (They’re people, too!)
I found myself in the offices of Senator Susan Collins and Senator Angus King, in focused conversations about the clean energy transition, funding methods, clean energy tax credits, and effective permit reform.
The conversations were personal. Wearing a chickadee pin, a fellow Mainer and self-proclaimed birder explained his support for wind energy to a Republican aide. A civil engineer who works on transmission lines in Maine spoke convincingly about his first-hand experience with the shift toward clean energy and why permit reform is critical.
The conversations were also vulnerable. We expressed disappointment over losses to the IRA and forward-thinking climate policy, and when lawmakers responded with uncertainty or gloom, we had the important role of offering optimism and creative solutions that they could act on.
It was empowering – and a reminder that our lawmakers are people, too.
Leaving D.C., it was evident that so much of the work ahead relies on strong relationships, trust, and empathy. We must be productive and resolved, but also patient in the face of uncertainty and human emotion.
And in Maine, where our lawmakers are more accessible than in many other states, the responsibility to speak up is even greater. What I brought home was not just the memory of those conversations, but the conviction that influence isn’t about only expertise or seniority – it’s about showing up.
Even a newcomer with only one Maine winter behind her can help shape the direction of this state’s climate story.
CCL Fall Conference & Next Lobby Days
If you’d like to add your voice to this work, please join Citizens’ Climate Lobby at our Fall Conference the week of November 15th (online via Zoom), or in person at Lobby Days in D.C. this March or next summer. Details are available at: cclusa.org/conference.
