Blog: Empty Chairs at Empty Tables: Why it’s so hard to find a coffee hour with your legislator

With the new pro-democracy majority in Lansing, Voters Not Politicians realized this legislative session was the perfect opportunity to launch a new volunteer program: Legislative Liaisons. These volunteers meet directly with their elected officials in the MI House and Senate to advocate for Voters Not Politicians’ legislative priorities, such as election funding and ethics reform.

A former Michigan lawmaker (and current Voters Not Politicians volunteer) gave us this advice for communicating with elected officials: Go. Get. Coffee. Constituent coffee hours are by far the best way to get in touch with the person who is speaking for you in our government. Why?

1. You get to speak to your actual lawmaker. If you call your legislator’s office to speak to them, your call will be answered by a member of their staff, who will note the reason for your call, and may direct you to the resources you’re looking for as needed. And if you make the trip to Lansing and stop by their office in the capitol, you run into the same problem. But at a coffee hour, the lawmaker themself is guaranteed to be there, and is prepared to speak directly with their constituents. 
2. You hear from other community members, and they hear from you. Being in a public space with other involved citizens gives you the opportunity to hear what your neighbors are concerned about, and they get to hear your concerns as well. You may even find extra support for your cause!  

But finding these coffee hour opportunities has proven to be far more difficult and time-consuming than we expected. Some lawmakers share this information on their social media. Some lawmakers don’t have social media at all. Some use an email newsletter. Others don’t have a newsletter or send it out irregularly. Some offices took months to set up any public community meetings. And at least one lawmaker’s office told a Voters Not Politicians volunteer that they weren’t planning on having coffee hours at all! 

But Voters Not Politicians volunteers aren’t easily deterred! Our volunteers have already found and attended over 100 meetings with their legislators this session. One of our volunteers outlined all of the steps she had to take to track down information about coffee hours in various legislative districts.

1. Reach out via email. Start by sending a simple email to the legislator’s office. You can find email addresses for the State House and State Senate members on the official House and Senate pages. Most offices usually respond within 24 hours, but some may take a week or longer and some might not get back to you at all. 
2. Follow up with a phone call. You can call the legislator’s Lansing office or an in-district office, for those who have one. Most Lansing offices didn’t answer the phone when our volunteers called, but some did. If you have to leave a voicemail, remember to leave a callback number along with your request for information. 
3. Look for an official social media page. Try to find a Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter page to see if any information about coffee hours is posted there. It’s best to find an official page that is associated with their office, as opposed to a campaign page. If no events are listed, try sending a message through that social media page. Not every representative will have social media; some may only have private or personal pages, and some may have pages which are out of date or infrequently updated. 
4. Sign up for your legislator’s email list. Some, but not all, legislators send out regular email blasts that will include upcoming coffee hours, resources, and updates on their work in Lansing. Not every lawmaker will offer email updates though. 

If these steps don’t work out, get organized! Voters Not Politicians can help connect you to other volunteers and voters in your district. Together, you can make it clear to your elected official that your voice deserves to be heard, and it is their job to listen. 

Remember, “all political power is inherent in the people.” Our democracy only works when politicians are following the will of the voters. It might take some time, some work, or some extra organizing, but you have the power to make your politicians listen. So go get some coffee!

(P.S. Purchase of coffee not required to attend coffee hours 😉)