Citizen Participation Counts!
(Or, the story of how one activist motivated an apathetic, apolitical citizen (me!) ) by A Spot Guest Blogger Gretchen Elias
My roommate, Jess, works for Toxics Action Center, a nonprofit spin-off of the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). The PIRG is a nationwide advocacy organization with a network of affiliated nonprofits in nearly every state. Jess has been working there for the past two years as a community organizer, providing coaching, mentoring, and advice to citizens fighting toxic pollution in their communities.
Right now, Jess is working with a Vermont-wide campaign, Safe Power VT , to shut down Vermont Yankee (pictured above, during a cooling tower collapse in 2007), a decades-old nuclear power plant in southern Vermont. It’s going to be a tough battle. The nuke plant has a powerful lobby on its side, along with some effective media coverage portraying the plant as a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly way to produce energy. Of course, the citizens groups that Jess advises feel differently—and in my opinion, the facts are in their favor. But to beat the nuke lobbyists and convince the legislature to move forward with shutting down Vermont Yankee, they will first have to convince a heck of a lot of ordinary citizens across Vermont.
How are they planning to do that? By identifying and mobilizing ordinary citizens across the state who already oppose Vermont Yankee—and getting them to make the case directly to their own community members and legislators. Classic community organizing and advocacy.
Jess has been after me to join the campaign, which has gotten me thinking about the challenges involved in citizen mobilization more generally. You see, I’m not someone who likes to talk to strangers. The thought of phone banking or knocking on doors (“canvassing”) pretty much makes me break out in a cold sweat. Still, here’s what I agreed to do:
- Talk to my state representative in the legislature (added bonus here—I know him personally so I feel more comfortable really laying on the pressure!)
- Encourage my friends and acquaintances to sign a petition in support of closing the plant.
Why am I doing this? I do believe in this cause, but then again, there are plenty of causes that I believe in. The anti-nuke cause was never one I felt especially passionate about. So why do I all of a sudden find myself taking action? Mostly it comes down to two things: 1) PEOPLE and 2) INFORMATION.
PEOPLE: Jess asked me directly. And she is my friend and roommate. Pretty hard to say no to someone you know, about something you know is important, just because you are shy or lazy or don’t want to have the bother. You’re going to have to see them again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. And one of those days, you might want their support on something you feel passionate about. Guilt comes in handy sometimes—in a good way!
INFORMATION: Jess added fuel to the fire by pointing out that I had been misled by the media. There was a huge uproar about a proposal to increase Vermont Yankee’s tax burden, which got framed in the media as a "liberal" initiative to single out a business and subject it to additional taxes. But as it turns out that, the proposal was actually about phasing out or reducing some tax exemptions that Vermont Yankee had been enjoying for years. Now, I’m not a fan of giving tax breaks to big out-of-state corporations that do things I don’t agree with, and who are making hefty profits, while homeowners and local businesses see their taxes go up. And I was livid that the media got away with this kind of spin. So that just fired me up even more. And now I’m going to go out and tell other people why I’m fired up.
All this from someone who didn’t really think much about nuclear energy or Vermont Yankee even a year ago. Jess’ strategy with me reflects the bread-and-butter of the PIRG approach to mobilizing citizens: Get the word out to lots of people about the ‘real story’ behind the media spin. Get them mad. And then give them the tools to do something about it. And she started close to home, with friends and neighbors who she knew would be predisposed to listen.
What about others in the advocacy community? What are your experiences with this crucial aspect of building support for your causes: getting people involved?
Tags: advocacy, citizen participation, community organizing, PIRG, toxics action network, vermont